The Use of Hands
Acts 3:1-10
3:1Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." 5So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." 7And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them--walking, leaping, and praising God. 9And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
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1.It is amazing what we can do for someone, in the Name of Jesus, if we are willing to just offer a hand.
2.Lets take a journey through the Old and New Testaments and develop a deeper
appreciation of how God uses our hands.
The Obligation of our hands
Heb 6:1-2
6:1Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
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This passage mentions “laying on of hands” as one of the elementary principles of Christ. In other words we should no only understand this principle but practice it often.
The laying on of hands was used for:
1. Consecration
Gen 48:12-16
12So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. 13And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14Then 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. 15And he blessed Joseph, and said:
"God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
16The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
Bless the lads;
Let my name be named upon them,
And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."
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The idea is clear, laying hands on someone in the Name of the Lord to bless them
can bring much needed spiritual and physical support. What if we, as a congregation, were to take the time to lay hands on the:
1. Staff Pastors
2. Sunday School Teachers
3. Worship Team
4. Nursery workers
5. Maintenance Staff
6. One another
…with the single purpose of praying a blessing on them? I believe it would it would draw us together like never before!
2. In Ordination
Num 8:9-11
10So you shall bring the Levites before the LORD, and the children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites; 11and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD, like a wave offering from the children of Israel, that they may perform the work of the LORD.
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Note:
While you should never lay hands on anyone suddenly (1 Timothy 5:22)
Do not quickly appoint any person to the ministry; let the person be well proved before he receives the laying on of hands. Some understand this of laying hands on the sick.
…and never place a novice in leadership positions (1 Timothy 3:6)
While we clearly understand this, It remains extremely important that ministry be recognized by the laying on of hands.
3. Joshua
Num 27:18-23
18And 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; 19set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and inaugurate him in their sight. 20And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. 21He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the LORD for him by the judgment of the Urim; at his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him--all the congregation." 22So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. 23And he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him, just as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.
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Note: Moses was to lay hands on Joshua and give him some of his authority, Joshua understood the boundaries in which he was to minister.
4. Timothy
1 Tim 4:14-15
14Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.
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2 Tim 1:6-7
6Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
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The laying on of hands is not just for the impartation of ministry. It can be used:
1. To stir the gifts God has given you (how are you and your gifts doing?)
2. Bring ministry back to life (are you presently sidelined?)
3. Revive vision! (Have you lost your vision?)
… if any of the above is true, let’s make sure you don’t leave this service without having hands laid on you!
5. Healing
Mark 6:4-6
5Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.
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Mark 7:32-36
32Then 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. 33And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. 34Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." 35Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. (To speak plainly is a miracle in itself)
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Note:
1. They knew the power of the touch of Jesus
2. We need to be reminded of the power of the touch of Jesus through us!
3. Who do you know right now, that would benefit from your touch?
a. Someone who just lost a loved one
b. Someone in a nursing home that is simply longing to be touched
c. Someone with a terminal disease who needs a touch of Jesus with skin on
Mark 16:15-18
15And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
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Luke 4:40-41
40When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.
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Acts 19:6-11
6And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7Now the men were about twelve in all. 8And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. 9But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
11Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,
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Hands used for:
1. Imparting the Gifts
2. To workings of miracles
Note: Verse #9…when they were no longer welcome, Paul took his hands and went elsewhere! It is my prayer that we at FWC not only hunger and thirst for righteousness but to be touched by God and to touch others!
6. Blessing Children
Mark 10:13-16
13Then they brought young children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14But 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. 15Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." 16And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them.
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Note: How much would our children benefit from us turning off the T.V. one night a week and lay hands on them for:
1. Being strong witnesses in their school
2. Be strong enough to say NO to drugs, immorality, alcohol & tobacco
3. Be wise enough to discern what music to listen to, movies to watch & books to read
4. Be wise enough to know that being young does not grant a license to live unbiblical!
5. Blessing! Blessing! & more Blessing!
5.Understanding The Need for Discipline
Lev 24:10-16
10Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel fought each other in the camp. 11And the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the name of the Lord and cursed; and so they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) 12Then they put him in custody, that the mind of the LORD might be shown to them. 13And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 14"Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. 15Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ’Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. 16And whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death.
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Note: I realize this is a difficult Scripture, however let’s fast forward to our time. What we have here is a disciplinary problem. We live in a time when children are becoming more and more difficult to discipline. This is due, in no small part, to the reality of the present day consequences for corporal punishment or spanking your children.
I contend that parents, coupled with the wisdom of God, can still find creative ways of discipline that doesn’t include spanking. For example, if you have a child that is becoming increasingly difficult:
1. Let the family members “lay hands on the child” and seek God’s wisdom.
2. Reestablish family values, boundaries and punishment
3. Ask God to help this child be obedient, and pledge as a family to help the child in anyway possible.
4. Remember, most children need not to reminded of their sins, they need to be reminded of their Savior!
Close: Hands, when placed in the Hands of the Lord, can be most useful! Useful for:
1. Consecration
2. Ordination
3. Healing
4. Blessing Children
5. Understanding the Need for Discipline
ALTAR CALL
