June 3, 2007
Morning Worship
Text: Acts 19:1-7
Subject: The Anointing of God By the Laying on of Hands
Title: Have I Got Something for You!
I’ve shared with you before from one of my favorite book series – The Chronicles of Narnia – and I want to begin today by telling a story from the first book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. This scene takes place toward the end of the book after Aslan, the lion, (who represents Jesus) has been sacrificed on the witch’s altar so that others could live and now He has miraculously been raised from the dead. (Sound familiar?) Now he is in the witch’s courtyard where there are many statues of every kind of creature imaginable. Are you ready?
“What and extraordinary place!” cried Lucy. “All those stone animals – and people too! It’s – it’s like a museum.”
“Hush” said Susan, “Aslan’s doing something.”
He was indeed. He had bounded up to the stone lion and breathed on him. Then without waiting a moment he whisked around – almost as if he had been a cat chasing its tail – and breathed on a stone dwarf, which (as you remember) was standing a few feet back from the lion with his back to it. Then he pounced on a tall stone Dryad which stood beyond the dwarf, turning rapidly aside to deal with a stone rabbit on his right and rushed on to two centaurs. But at that moment Lucy said, “Oh Susan! Look! Look at the lion!”
I expect you’ve seen someone put a lighted match to a bit of newspaper which is propped up in a grate against an unlit fire. And for a second nothing seems to have happened; and then you notice a tiny streak of flame creeping along the edge of the newspaper.. It was like that now. For a second after aslant had breathed upon him the stone lion looked just the same. Then a tiny streak of gold began to run along his white marble back – then it spread – then the color seemed to lick all over him as the flame licks all over a bit of paper – then, while his hind quarters were still obviously stone the lion shook his mane and all the heavy stony folds rippled into living hair. Then he opened his great red mouth, warm and living, and gave a prodigious yawn. And now his hind legs had come to life. He lifted one of them and scratched himself. Then having caught sight of Aslan, he went bounding after him and frisking around him with whimpering and delight, jumping up to lick his face… (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Pages 164-165).
I want to talk to you today about what just happened in this story. Aslan (Jesus) went about breathing (the Holy Spirit) into those who were made of stone. But in the last days God is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh…
One of the ways – and not the only way – that the church can receive something from the Spirit of God today is through the laying on of hands. I want to share with you today the importance of being baptized in the Holy Spirit and being used by the Spirit in the gifts of the Spirit. Open your hearts to receive from God today.
I. THE LAYING ON OF HANDS IS FOR RECEIVING THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT. (Acts 19:1-7)
A. You have to be saved. “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” Just like you cannot be good enough to save yourself, you can never be good enough to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Both are an act of grace from God. It is your coming to Christ that cleanses you. Likewise it is your desire for more from God that can move you to the next level. When you get to the place in your Christian walk where you know you need something more; when you say I’m just not sensing God’s presence in my life anymore; when you know that you are struggling by attempting to be a Christian in your own strength then it is time to fill up that emptiness with something else.
B. You have to be taught. Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. 4Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” When the disciples in Ephesus said they didn’t even know there was a Holy Spirit what they were saying was, “We didn’t know that the Holy Spirit had been poured out yet.” They may have heard about what happened on the day of Pentecost. They may have heard about what happened in Samaria when Peter and John went down and laid hands on the believers there. They may have heard about what happened in the house of Cornelius, when the spirit was poured out on the Gentiles, but they didn’t know it was available to them. They had to be taught.
C. You have to be willing. 5On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. They were willing to take another step forward in their relationship with God. Now I want you to understand something. These were twelve disciples in one of the most vile cities in the Roman Empire. Ephesus was the center of worship for the Greek goddess Diana. She was the goddess of fertility. The great temple of Diana was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. They incorporated temple prostitutes in their temple worship. It took 120 years to build the temple. The Ephesians were proud of their pagan heritage. Yet here were twelve men who had forsaken that pagan religion, had become new creations in Christ, and had somehow been able to distance themselves from the past. Yet they now knew that there must be something more and as Paul taught them they opened their hearts to receive more. Look at the progression. 1) They were saved. 2) They were baptized in water in the name of Jesus. 3) When Paul laid his hands on them they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. All because they were willing to go the next step. Paul reminds us in Ephesians of where it is we have come from. 1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature£ and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. I can’t make you want to receive it. All I can do is tell you that you need it over and over again. All I can do is tell you how a carpenter was driving his pickup down highway 61 at Wentzville in 1996 when a certain song came on the tape player called “I Believe” and the glory of God filled the cab of that 1987 Ford Ranger, and the tears started flowing and the praise in tongues started flowing and the Spirit of the Living God somehow kept the truck on the road in rush hour traffic while in his spirit he was shouting out “I Believe!”
II. THE LAYING ON OF HANDS IS FOR IMPARTING SPIRITUAL GIFTS. Romans 1:11, “11I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong
A. Impartation through Ministry. In Paul’s statement here there is a confession of his knowledge that God is using him for the purpose of building up the church. “I long to see you that I may impart…” Paul had a strong desire for the church everywhere to experience everything that God had for them. He understood (as I told you last week) that church without the Pentecostal experience just wouldn’t work. Why? Because church without Pentecost is devoid of the power of God. As Paul neared the end of his ministry he saw more and more how little he was and how great God is. He said he was the chief of sinners yet God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above what we ask or think… But through it all he also understood that God worked through him. 1 Corinthians 2:4, “4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
B. Praying for Others to Receive Spiritual Gifts. Do you see the purpose of imparting spiritual gifts? It is to make you strong. Again, Paul knows that it isn’t him giving the gifts – they are given by the Holy Spirit. But it is God working through him. Do you think that God still works the same way today? Then why don’t we see it happening? First of all people will receive what they expect. If you aren’t expecting much that’s what you’re going to get. Second people look at the minister instead of focusing on the power of God. Listen, I suspect that many of you look at me with this view – He’s just one of us who God has called to pastor this church. True enough I am working class just like all of you. I was called here to pastor this church and to see it blossom. But if God has indeed called me here, even though you may not see me as Billy Graham or Smith Wigglesworth or a Kathryn Kuhlman, I am confident that he will use me to lay hands on you to impart some spiritual gift.
C. The purpose of Receiving – To make you strong. If you are willing to receive some impartation of a gift from the Spirit; if you are willing to step out in faith to be used of God in a gift of the Spirit, then you will see that the whole purpose of impartation is to strengthen the church. 1 Corinthians 12, “7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. The purpose of the gifts is for the building up of the church. I have stated in the past that the spiritual gifts come only to those who have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. I would like to rephrase that and I want you to think about it. I believe that the Holy Spirit distributes gifts to all Christians. But it is only though the baptism in the Holy Spirit that we are able to sense what God is truly doing in us and then use the power available to us to respond in a spiritual way. The church needs the baptism and the gifts.
III. THE LAYING ON OF HANDS IS FOR IMPARTING HEALING. James 5:13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. The words of Jesus? 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
What do you want this church to be and how do you expect it to get there?
It’s not going to be because I have built it.
It’s not going to be because you have made contributions to it.
But this church will become what God wants it to be only when you allow the power of the Holy Spirit to flow through you by the baptism and constant refilling and then praying to be used in spiritual gifts.
God is not a God of confusion. I believe that He intends every church to have every spiritual gift in operation. I believe He desires to see every Christian baptized in the Holy Spirit. I know that He wants to heal as much today as He did when Jesus ministered on the earth. I want you to understand this – it was not the divine Son of God that healed, cast out demons, raised the dead – it was the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus the man who did those things. If we think that’s not true then what Jesus said about us doing even greater things than He did is a lie because if it were the divine Jesus doing it we could never attain that stature.
What do you want to see this church become? To what length are you willing to go to see it accomplished?
Listen to what God is saying to this church,
“HAVE I GOT SOMETHING FOR YOU!”
