Laying On Of Hands

to the book of Hebrews chapter 6. verse 1. therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ let us go on into Perfection not laying again the foundation doesn't say ripping the foundation up just being starting their build on that not laying again the foundation and here's what's in the foundation foundational doctrines of repentance from dead works and Faith toward god of the doctrine of baptisms both spirit and water and of laying on of the hands and of resurrection of the dead and of Eternal judgment and this will we do if God permit we're going to build on this foundation and go into Perfection so in that passage is a doctrine that often people do not think about Overlook and I've taught on this just a few times here but I really felt to talk about this again tonight I want to speak on the laying on the fans and God bless you you can be seated and now that you're seated I wanted to just say a couple things to set up this idea um I I taught this I've taught this in leadership settings numerous times in our church and to other leaders but in 2015 on a Wednesday night Bible study I taught on the doctrine of laying on of hands and then in 2019 in a series on foundations I taught on all of these doctrines so on February 13 2019 I spoke on this again and I'm pretty careful I typically know when I taught on something and should I preach or teach this again you would never only teach on the Oneness of God once you know you would hopefully repeat it over and over in some reasonable period of time and so I was reluctant you know humanly to talk about this again 2019 to 2023 but I started thinking about what covet did to the church pre-covered altars were full and people lay hands on one and other during covid first we couldn't come to church we chose to to follow that and then we came socially distanced I remember the Pentecost Sunday and I said we're going to have an Acts 2 service today uh when the Holy Ghost fell and nobody laid hands on anybody they just all received the Holy Ghost and we had a touchless Pentecost Sunday that's weird if you were raised in a Pentecostal church right so covet affected us and I've been thinking and praying we need to restore the power of our altars we're seeing where people receive the gift of the Holy Ghost we're seeing more people being baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins we've gone years without ever having a week when we did not have someone either baptized and or receive the gift of the Holy Ghost I thank God for that pre-covered that was it was the rule more than the exception and then after covid you know people like to ignore whatever covet did financially our church was strong our attendance is still not totally back we've gained like a hundred per year average but but covet affected the church it affected the way we interact it affected people but it did not change the Bible amen in 2018 I taught a couple weeks on how things work in the kingdom of God and um so two Wednesday nights and and on that first message I I told a story that I heard brother Paul Mooney tell one of my heroes one of the great leaders in the United Pentecostal Church brother Mooney said he was in a hospital and he was going through a door from one unit to the next and is pushing against the door and I've told this story before in that series on how things work in the kingdom of God so I was pushing on the door for all I was worth and it was just not opening very easily instead a little nurse walked up to me and said sir you're working against the design of the door and she pushed that little silver button there and the door opened of its own accord just like the Apostle Peter was in prison and the prison doors opened up their own accord when he told that story you know of course it's one of the great brother Paul Mooney's stories that you never forget and in the kingdom of God you can do things that work against the design of the door against the design of the kingdom of God there are people that ignore biblical principles and they don't receive the benefit and the blessing of those biblical principles we obviously believe in giving and we realize that God blesses giving and if you're stingy with God you rob God the Bible said it's like you have a bag with holes in it keep putting money in that bag and it's not there because it just runs out because God doesn't seal it up and I'm not here to talk about money tonight I'm not even in my notes but I think it's important for us to understand the way things work in the kingdom of God that we work with God and not against God so that we cooperate with his principles you don't have to understand all about the wiring of the door or the mechanics of the door you just have to realize that if you push that button it will open for you you don't have to understand every thing about the kingdom of God there are some things that may seem hidden or mysterious but if you'll work with God according to his principles it will work for you amen one of those principles is the way God works in prayer I've taught numerous times about the the birth the death the supernatural fulfillment of a vision or a dream it's just the way God works it's the design of the kingdom of God Jesus said except a corn of wheat a kernel of wheat fall on the ground and die it abideth alone but if it dies it brings forth much fruit that's a principle of the kingdom of God it always works that way and if you work with God you have the benefit of God's blessing in your life now Jude who wrote toward the end of the apostolic era said that we need to earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered to the Saints so we need to make sure that we contend or fight for biblical doctrines and truth that bring God's principles to life in our lives principles are powerful when they're practiced if you just know it don't act on it it doesn't do you a lot of good you have to know it first but once you know that principle then you need to act on it so in those those biblical foundational principles they're doctrines of the church laying on of hands is there and in the scope of other doctrines it seems that in my life raised in the church that it wasn't really talked about a lot we believed in it we practiced in it but I never heard anyone lay out the doctrine of laying on of hands this Doctrine deals with power and authority and impartation that comes from God Amen when I was 16 years old at a youth camp the Lord started working with me I didn't know I was going to be a preacher did not acknowledge a call to preach was just at a youth camp and I was praying with a friend of mine not as a creature or Superior I just went up behind this friend and I put my hand on his back and started praying and when I did he was he was just praying but I just broke I felt something so much compassion in me and then he broke and I did not know till later that he had experienced a very serious family tragedy and I didn't know what God was doing in me but but I thought there's something going on here spiritually that I need to understand I did not know much about it but God used me to pray with people when I was in Bible College I started studying the laying on of hands brother Billy Cole he's passed away since that time he was teaching at the Bible College and I went to Brother Cole and I said brother Cole I would like to talk to you about the laying on a pants can you help me understand this Doctrine more and he began to share some principles for me about the impartation of the power of God God through the laying on of hands and then I remember a situation brother T.L craft you know that I I worked under for 10 years in Jackson my pastoral Mentor he told a story about a young man in the church he was in my youth group Jim Jimbo Hood Jim hood and when he was a little boy he was covered in Wars if you've heard me tell this story teaching this you will remember this story he had Wars everywhere and brother craft said I went to pray for Jimbo and I knelt down closed my eyes and I imagined myself being a little boy covered in warts and prayed when brother craft prayed for him overnight Jimbo was healed of those Wars it was a miracle of healing that God did in his life so I I'm still this early a stages of my Ministry trying to understand the doctrine not the gift but the doctrine of the laying on of hands and the Lord began to use me more praying with fellow students and people and throughout my Ministry I don't claim to have a corner on the market of laying on of hands I'm not trying to hang out my shingle as the expert on laying on his hands I just was hungry to understand this I felt like there was some power here that I saw operate but I wanted to understand how it worked you know the Bible said in Galatians 5 and 6 for in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision whether you're a Jew or a gentile but faith which worketh by love Faith Works by love if you have love love is the greatest right faith hope love is the greatest First Corinthians 13. so if you operate in love then Faith Works by love a compassion and love for people that's just how God works so I felt like there's a component of praying with people that there needs to be a compassion and a true love for people that moves you to Faith from Compassion or love to Faith I've got numerous scriptures in my notes of Matthew 14. I won't give you all the references for the sake of time but Jesus was moved with compassion healed their sick he departed from Jericho they were two blind men sitting there he was moved with compassion and he saved us when they said or healed them he healed them when they said have mercy on us so here is compassion or love triggering Faith or the miraculous God God works like this Mark 1 a leper he was moved with compassion and other references in the Bible about how Faith Works by love so uh there is power and prayer right we believe in that and fervent prayer the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much and uh and I heard brother Blake years ago at his school of missions teaching on prayer and he said God invented prayer and he created it for us to communicate with them prayer is not our idea it was God's idea so we believe that when we pray we're working with God he doesn't need us just like he doesn't need our money but he choses to be a labor together with us or we are labors together with God so God is at work and we're working with him amen so when we pray God responds to prayer it is a prayer of faith this is much later in my notes it is a prayer of faith that saves the sick and the Lord will raise them up we pray for daily needs spiritual Direction spiritual breakthrough we pray in the spirit Ephesians 6 18 says praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit watching there and too with all perseverance and supplication for All Saints Paul said I pray with the understanding and I pray with the spirit we should pray both ways so we should yield to God to pray in the spirit amen the Bible said in Romans 8 26 that the spirit makes intercession for us we don't even know what we're praying for and I believe Romans 8 26 is mainly talking about how the spirit intercedes for us on our behalf when we don't know how to pray more than it refers to us interceding for someone else but the spirit prays through us so beyond prayer in general in prayer with fasting and prayer with obedience you have not because you ask not and you have not because you ask faultly or amiss right so we want to pray and we want to pray according to the will of God and we want to pray in alignment with what he wants to do the will of God that's a little bit repetitive but there's also a Ministry of Prayer throughout the Bible God looked for an intercessor he looked for someone to go pray or go to him on behalf of someone else Abraham interceded for lot talking to God about the city of Sodom which he spared for 50 righteous all the way to ten righteous he interceded so to intercede before someone is to go to God on behalf of another person it's a fascinating read about this in some Bible dictionaries about intercession you can check my theology there but when you pray an intercessory prayer it doesn't have to be in the spirit doesn't have to be in tongues but you're going to God for someone else and this is all part of this idea of laying on a hand so this is all interrelated but I wanted to lay out this idea we pray sometimes we do not even understand what we pray I told you this story when I was 16 I had no idea what that friend was going through when I learned it later it kind of shook me up how serious it was but the Lord knew his need and in my naivety and just praying it kind of happened to me it wasn't something I earned or deserved or was operating and some great knowledge I certainly did not have that but I believe the need of my friend was so great that God used me to help him receive strength that he needed to deal with a crisis in his family now when you pray When you pray when I pray I think there's always two things that that are kind of transactional that need to happen the first thing is I need to empty myself of what is in me that is not like God or that needs to change if I'm coming to God as a sinner you'll notice that the first Doctrine in Hebrews 6 is repentance from dead works it comes before Faith toward God so the first thing that happens is you change your mind that's what repentance is a change of mind about Sin and God and your life Direction you're turning your life over to God when you pray you need to change your mind about your circumstances and you need to empty yourself of any preconceived ideas of yourself if it's salvation you're repenting as a saying of God you're turning this problem over to God it's getting out of your hands you're casting all your care upon him it's an emptying of ourselves it is like a glass of water that is full and you like to put something else in it maybe more water fresh water but until you empty it there's no room for anything else and I believe repentance is an illustration only an application is emptying yourself so God can fill you you know the man that was had the devil cast out of him his life was swept and empty but it was not filled with the spirit and he went out in seven more worse than that devil came into him so you've got to empty yourself but then be filled of God that's the second part of prayer we don't want people to come and repent of their sins and walk out the door having emptied themselves in Repentance but not being filled with the gift of the Holy Ghost now we know sometimes repentance is a process for that person to to pray and to get things right with God and maybe go make things right with people and I think you can settle it with God and then go work out the details with people later all right so repentance can be in can be instantaneous so we empty ourselves and then then we allow God to fill us up several years ago brother Josh Herring was preaching here and it prompted a scripture to my mind Acts 19 11. and God brought special Miracles by the hands of Paul so that from his body we're brought into the sick handkerchiefs or aprons and the diseases departed from them that's the phrase I want you to see they departed from them something went out of them amen and the evil spirits went out from them there were things in them sicknesses and spirits and in prayer apron's prayer from the hands of Paul the power of God did this not Paul not that symbol of faith that token of faith we do believe that God honors our faith and even tokens of prayer like that but it went out from them that's the end goal of this doctrine of this message tonight it's not till we'd walk out with a new education about something we've heard a couple times here but so that there would be spiritual transactions happen in this altar that sin would go out of people Spirits would go out of people diseases would come out of people that God would heal and deliver and save and restore and recover that the power of God would be demonstrated Among Us so you've got an empty and there has to be a filling they were all filled with the Holy Ghost now baptism is kind of described two ways you are in Christ and Christ is in you means the same thing but in this case I want to describe this Christ in you so we empty ourselves and when the Holy Ghost fills us they were all filled with the Holy Ghost be not drunk with wine we're in his excess but be filled with the spirit the Bible says right so there needs to be this Supernatural filling in our lives now if I stopped right here there's something that we all need to take away when you're sick when you've sinned when you need something from God you need to get it out of you and you need to get God in you you need God's solution God's answer to your problem amen so that stands alone as what I believe happens transactionally when we pray we've got to empty ourselves and then we let God replace what has been emptied with his solution his Source his power his answer to our prayer the human emptying and the Divine filling this is where I believe that the laying on of hands is just a tool spiritual tool that God uses you do not have to have someone to lay hands on you for what I just described to happen to empty yourself and to be filled with the power of God but we know scripturally Old and New Testament that God used the laying on of hands and in the New Testament there were people who receive the gift of the Holy Ghost when hands were laid on them in Acts chapter 8 in the Samaritan Revival when when Philip went there they were all baptized there was great joy but until so Peter and John came down to Samaria no one received the gift of the Holy Ghost they laid hands on them and then the door to the Samaritans was open to the gospel maybe there's something else going on there but that's my best understanding but they didn't receive the Holy Ghost until Peter and John came down laid hands on them and then they received the Holy Ghost so I'm just want to use this word transactional that God used the laying on of hands to impart the power of the Holy Ghost all right so back to Hebrews 6. therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ let us go on into Perfection build the whole house not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and a faith toward God or of the doctrine of baptisms and of laying on of hands I'll stop right there because I just wanted to repeat what I read and what I've said that delaying on of hands and I guess I grew up thinking it was a gift and I believe God can use it as a spiritual gift or in in accompanied by a spiritual gift okay but but it is a doctrine that means that you don't have to be have a spiritual gift to operate into laying on of hands in fact Mark 16 much later in my notes you think much later that's scary so about believers they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover it doesn't say Apostles prophets evangelists pastors teacher teachers these signs shall follow them that believe please say that's me Spirit-filled believer that's you so God uses the laying on of hands now some people get uncomfortable when you talk about this because they've seen it misused or abused I remember many years ago as a teenager my sister was suffering from a migraine or at a conference they had a healing line and after she had been prayed for by numerous people well-meaning people she had a much worse migraine than when she started in the prayer line and as a teenager I kind of had a bad attitude about that I'm pretty protective you know people I love and um it was not it was not anything bad but there was just a lot of enthusiasm right and it was great except for my sister so sometimes you get people can have just a bad view of the laying on of hands and around here we try to do things decently in an order but you know powerful altars are messy Church brother jtp taught me church is just messy that's how you survive being a pastor 27 years church is messy and if you think it's not going to be messy then you're going to be super disillusioned and if you're a preacher and you think it's not going to be messy then you'll probably go be a pediatrician or a plumber or something else because you know it's just messy and and altars are messy and when people are praying sometimes they're they're desperate with God and it's not pretty it's like an emergency room it's not usually pretty there because there's something happening that's in the deepest part of a person's life so we need to just kind of roll with that and expect that and try to take care of things to get out of order and don't expect it to be pretty all the time amen so I've already said this but laying out of hands is not limited to a spiritual gift but when it's practiced properly sometimes spiritual gifts are imparted has been a few times when I felt like and when I prayed for somebody that there was a spiritual gift that happened that went out for me not from me but you know God used me and God gave a spiritual gift and and uh and and that happened with Paul praying for Timothy he laid his hands on him and his spiritual gift was imparted Paul wanted to go to Corinth I believe and part of spiritual gift so this foundational Doctrine means that we need to understand it we need to practice it amen and then the Bible it's used in many many different ways so now I want to give you the foundational Doctrine and I uh I felt like I probably need a couple weeks on this and I'll take a couple weeks on this Doctrine and I'm going to be practical about alter work here all right in Atlanta West so today I'm trying to lay down the foundation the doctrine and then we'll get into some practice and my goal is not to make you feel nervous about praying with people brother Jerry Jones said one time then the churches they're like mousey churches everybody's afraid they're going to do something wrong so they don't do anything that is not what we wanted Atlanta West and we typically are not going to call you out and shout you down and humiliate you we're going to try to handle things discreetly so I want to go back to Leviticus 16. you can turn in your Bibles there cheat and watch the screen which is a lot easier it's not cheating I'm just being funny poor attempt to humor this is where the Bible there's a law first mentioned where something is taught and this is where I believe you know when I begin to study this the Lord directed me and they're wearing a lot of resources to be honest but Leviticus 16 20. this is the day of atonement and when he had made an end of reconciling reconciling the holy place the Tabernacle of the congregation in the altar he shall bring the live goat and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions in all their sins putting them on the head of the goat and shall send them away by the hand of a fit man Into the Wilderness and the Goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness so that's a fascinating picture so this is a day of atonement the tenth day of the seventh month Aaron is to make an atonement for himself and then a Reconciliation for the people he brings the Bullock as a sin offering for himself and then two goats and one ram are involved and then there are these two goats and lots are cast and one goat is designated as the Lords we're going to see these verses on the screen Leviticus 16 and 7. and he shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation and Aaron shall cast lost upon the two ghosts one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat and Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's life fell and offer him for a sin offering so this first goat is going to be killed sacrificed unto the Lord the second is the scapegoat verse 10. but the goat on which the lot fell to be the Escape go shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement with him and to be let go into a forest scapegoat Into the Wilderness so he's presented live to the Lord so verse 21 that I read a few minutes ago just a couple minutes ago is this place verse 20 reconciling the holy Place go on to verse 21 thank you media and Aaron Chalet both his hands everybody say he's going to lay his hands on the goat and he's going to confess over this live goat all the sins the iniquities of the children of Israel and then the Bible said he's going to put them on the head of the goat now how is that this is spiritual it is certainly like not a list that he's sticking on the horns of a goat you know that's not that and then this goat Bears the iniquities of the people he's led by the hand of a fit man I know that's probably you not me out in the wilderness law far away where he can never come back again and he's let go in the wilderness now this principle of laying on of hands is depicted in the scripture Leviticus 16 21. I'm going to just highlight the first part of this verse you'll see it on the screen Leviticus 16 21 and air Chalet both his hands upon the head of the live goat so he's going to lay his hands on him and then in verse 21 he's going to confess over him the iniquities of the children of Israel so there's a first thing that happens here or that goat symbolically becomes Israel so the operative word to me here is identification that that goat becomes Israel it is now going to eventually the sins are going to be transferred to this goat imparted to him he's going to carry them away but there's identification and there is impartation or transfer that's the word that I first came up with years ago impartation is a little better word that I found studying this Doctrine but then if you'll just look again at verse 21 farther down in this phrase he's going to put those sins on the head of the goat and send them away amen led by a fit man in the wilderness now this ceremony this spiritual ceremony looked ahead to Jesus Christ because Jesus was both the sacrificial goat and he was also the scapego goat he shed his blood for our sins and then the Bible said he carried them away he took them away from us or they can never find us again amen second Corinthians 5 21 said he who knew no sin became sin for us God made him to become sin and these two principles are so powerful to me they're on the screens again identification laying hands upon the head of the life goat confessing the iniquities over him now now this is just an animal but he's a substitute he's standing in for Israel this is the principle that God instituted God ordained this so This goat symbolically becomes Israel this is identification and what I've kind of studied through this I look back at that story I told you when I was 16 that when I laid my hands on my friends back I was standing behind him and I just felt some compassion I felt like God was letting me identify with what was going on in him in the same way that this goat is becomes like Israel it's symbolic of of carrying his sins and then when Aaron transfer those sins to the goat I feel like this impartation is when something transfers from that person who's laying on of hands to the person who is being prayed for okay so if you'll just say identification identification and impartation impartation that was really weak impartation if you'll help me out the more you get with me the quicker I go it's giving you a little hope identification impartation now I believe that this is the spiritual principle that God uses and he's used them over and over throughout the Bible so I'm going to just run through super fast some examples uh Isaac to Jacob Jacob to Joseph's Sons Ephraim and Manasseh laid hands on them when there was a sacrifice in Exodus chapter 29 Leviticus 1 Leviticus 2 pay laid hands on the sacrifice this day of atonement Leviticus 16 laying on of hands ordaining into leadership or authority or Ministry this is a big deal in the New Testament and the all they laid hands on people Moses laid hands on Joshua the children of Israel laid their hands on the Levites who ordained them into into Ministry and Leviticus I'm not going to go over this verse for my media team but numbers 27 when God told Moses to lay your hands on Joshua and give him a charge but then later the Bible said that the power of God rested on on uh yes it did on uh this the leader Joshua for Moses had laid his hands on him when Moses laid his hands on Joshua I'm getting ahead of myself Deuteronomy 34 9. if you'll just put that verse up there thank you so the same anointing that was on Moses was on Joshua and the reason it gives is because Moses laid his hands on him and when he did that anointing and Authority that was in Moses was transferred to Joshua God's chosen leader for the Next Generation people laid his when there was a capital offense in the New Testament and it's related on people ordaining them into Ministry like first Timothy 4 14. neglect not the gift that is in thee Paul tells Timothy which was given thee by Prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery when we ordain people into the ministry we lay hands on them we believe that there is power there in second Timothy 1 and 6 Paul said I want you to remember I want you to stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hand something happened when Paul laid his hands on Timothy Paul is just a man Timothy is just a man God created this this transaction this identification this impartation and he uses it amen I will never forget being a little boy more than once one time a stomach ache one time an earache when my father my Layman Carpenter dad put his big thick hand on my head and prayed over me not a preacher but a Believer and I remember God instantly healing me when my dad prayed over me I believe in the power of a believer that is Anointed by the Holy Ghost this should not be obscure to us it should be everyday Apostolic life Amen in our homes every head of home you have authority in your home you have the power of the Holy Ghost that Believers will lay hands on the sick and they shall recover amen Paul and Barnabas going on a missionary journey hands are laid on them this is how it happens for healing Mark 16 18. they shall take up serpents not on purpose we have an example and if they drink any deadly thing accidentally it will not hurt them they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover I mentioned these special Miracles by the hands of Paul Jesus Took children up in his arms and blessed them in Acts chapter 8 verse 17 you can skip to that verse this is when Peter and John come down to Samaria then lay they their hands on them and they receive the Holy Ghost acts 9 17 ananias went his way went into the house where Saul of Tarsus was ananias is a certain disciple he prays for him and God heals Paul of blindness that doesn't specifically say but he said God sent me here that you might receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost I believe it was at that time that the Apostle Paul Saul of tarshus received the gift of the Holy Ghost that's 19 6 and when Paul had laid his hands on them the Holy Ghost came on them and they spake with tongues and prophesied you do not have to have someone lay hands on you to receive the Holy Ghost but God uses this so we should operate with God Amen so I believe when you pray with someone I'm not really a fan of trying to see how many people you can lay hands on in a single service sometimes I'm a guest preacher somewhere and I may pray I'm a pastor we have pastoral team members here Elders in our church we may pray with numerous people but the way I've seen this operate so much is when you take time with a person and you pray with them and you lead them to repentance and you help them empty themselves they're not imparting anything to them if you try to impart something to a person that is still full of sin who has not yet emptied themselves to God probably nothing's going to happen but if you'll help them repent and encourage them that God loves them and will forgive them if they'll ask for forgiveness if a person is struggling burning down it might be depression it might be grief but if they will cast their burdens on the Lord amen cast their Care on the Lord if they will empty themselves if you'll help them do that pray with them be compassionate let God use you to help them empty themselves out and when you sense that they have emptied themselves and your kind of sense in the spirit that A change is now coming in they're they're now ready to see God do something in their life and at that point I begin to say words of faith and encourage them sometimes to a person who's wanting to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost I will say will you receive the gift of the Holy Ghost right now and almost always if it's a saint in the church I don't always ask permission to lay my hands on that person but a guest a person seeking the Holy Ghost I typically am going to ask them may I lay my hand on your head and that's their body space we're in a post-covered world I want to make sure that they've given God permission to give them the Holy Ghost by repenting and ready to receive and that they're ready for me to be a part of that process and lay my hands on them and if they say yes then I will say receive the Holy Ghost and I believe in that moment that God is going to give them the Holy Ghost I expect it to happen amen that God is going to impart the gift of God the Holy Ghost in that person's life amen now I know there's a scripture First Timothy 5 22. media you get a gold star tonight for keeping up with me lay hands suddenly on no man neither be partakers of other man's sins the context this verse is not talking about you know going real slow when you lay hands on somebody this has to do with ordaining a person into a position of authority Paul Rice Timothy and he says things you've heard and seen of me commit to Faithful Men Who Shall be able to teach others also there's this process make sure that that person is faithful you don't put a novice into a position of authority the Bible says this is the context of this Timothy be careful if you're going to put a person in the position of Spiritual Authority don't do it suddenly make sure that that person needs qualifications he gives qualifications of Bishops and deacons to Timothy don't do this suddenly but in this practical way I think that we need to be thoughtful and prayerful I've walked you through this process of emptying and filling of identification and transfer if this operates the way I believe the principle is then you've got to take a little time with that person now sometimes a person is repented in the seat they repented at home they come down they're ready to receive the Holy Ghost in that moment so you've got to read where they are don't make them go back I can repent all over again if they've got stammering lips and they're ready to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost they have faith start right there we always say start where people are right start where that person is if they're not ready to receive the Holy Ghost you're going to waste your time you're going to frustrate and confuse them by praying with them to receive the Holy Ghost when they're not ready they're praying for their son that's in jail they're praying for their marriage they're praying for something else you've got to start where they are amen so we want to not lay hands on somebody suddenly I'm applying that principle told you what I believe the principle is so that we're we're sensitive or thoughtful prayerful amen I believe that before we go pray with someone else we need to make sure we've emptied ourselves of any known sin and we don't have a bad attitude we don't have an unforgiving spirit that we've let God fill us with the Holy Ghost renew Us in the Holy Ghost one baptism many fillings by the way initial baptism of the Holy Ghost and filled many many times over hopefully Paul said I thank my God I speak in tongues more than you all so you speak in an unknown tongue you edify yourself which is a good thing and Jude said you keep yourself in the love of God by praying in the Holy Ghost so there's a lot of verses about that When you pray with someone you're standing a very sacred spot you're standing there representing God to help that person receive something that only God can give them I cannot give them anything spiritually only God can right but God uses people and when we understand how the door works instead of trying to bust through the door trying to make someone receive the Holy Ghost so they're ready like that right if we understand how this works then we can work with that person and see God do incredible things through the power of the Holy Ghost if you're able please stand and if you don't mind please begin to make your way to the altar if you're able to come I always say this commercial if it's you have a really early morning you need to go I always understand that we don't think you're being disrespectful if you have to leave on a Wednesday night praise God I mentioned my friend when I was 16. he's still my friend all these years later I didn't go take authority and lay my hands on his head because when you lay up your head your hands on someone's head that's that's a position of authority right not you're not taking Authority but it's God's Authority through you so if that person is not receptive to that you're going to get resistance so you want to I have this lesson about reading and reaching people we want to read where they are so we can reach them with the power of God so sometimes I'm not going to lay my hands on their head they're not ready to receive for something to be imparted to them so I'm trying to identify I'm trying to match where they are [Music] so I can help them get to a place of receptivity to the power of God amen and then when I feel like they've emptied themselves there's been that identification and that emptying and I again I'm repeating myself I begin to try to encourage and speak words of faith and when I say that they're ready they're hungry for God and they're ready then I'm gonna with permission I usually would do that sooner earlier gonna pray with them in Jesus name I'm going to believe that God will work through me will flow through me with power and authority in the Holy Ghost to minister to them in a way now you want to ask why does this work why does God do this I have no idea I have no well I do have some ideas why God chose speaking in other tongues as a sign of the Holy Ghost I don't have to understand the engineering and everything that's in God's Divine mind to read his word and know how things work okay I just know this works and I know the principles behind it but to to say I understand and I've got in my notes you know the hands have a hundred thousand receptors and all this stuff this is not about a human hug or a human touch this is about a spiritual principle and the power of God