Why do we lay hands on people?

Let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity,, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God and of instructions about washings, the laying on of hands.

  1. Active Faith

One of our core values is Active Faith

This next foundation stone is activating our faith because it represents the laying on of hands.

this is active faith because it makes us believe God will flow through us to bring life change to another person.

We are just a channel that God uses.

  1. Why doesn’t he just do what he wants to do by bypassing us?  I don’t know
  2. He chooses to flow though us, but we have to step out in faith believing God is going to use us.

Two extremes can happen

  1. God could never use me until I am spiritual enough
    1. We become spiritual through Repentance, Faith in God, Walking int he way of life rather than death.
  2. Look what I can do and ego comes in
    1. If someone is healed, who got the gift of healing me or the person I prayed for.
    2. EXAMPLE:  the emptiness of a pipe.  The more we are full of ourselves, the more useless we become.  It is only through our emptiness that we are useful for anything.

2. Three reasons for laying on of hands.

In the Bible there were three reasons for people laying hands on another.We are not going to look at them all but those that apply to us today.

  1. Ritual Substitution
    1. Substitution means semichah laying on of hands as a form of substitution.
    2. Sacrificial animals which were a substitution for themselves. Leviticus 1: 3
      1. They would lean upon them with their hands to put their weight upon them.
      2. Taking what is from me and putting it on another.
      3. This will show why laying on of hands works in the other areas mentioned in the bible.
  2. Giving Blessings
    1. Upon children
      1. Jesus to Children Mark 10: 13, 16  Matthew 19: 13
      2. Patriarchs on their children. Genesis 48: 13D
        1. Speaking over them what you want to see happen in their lives.
        2. High value on the one being blessed.
    2. Disciples Matthew 10: 1
      1. Gave them authority is a way of laying hands on them and commissioning them.
    3. Sick Mark 5: 23 Mark 16: 18 James 5: 14
      1. Healing is a form of blessing
    4. Weight of presence of God upon us is being given to others by the laying on of hands.
  3. Ordination
    1. Ordination is an investment of identity (Recognize a spiritual gift in someone) and authority (Empower you to minister)
      1. Moses to Joshua Numbers 27: 18
        1. Received a portion of the Spirit of Moses Deuteronomy 34: 9
      2. Apostles Acts 6: 6
      3. But don’t lay hands on them too quickly 1 Timothy 5: 22
      4. We lay hands on every missionary that comes to church
    2. Transferring the Holy Spirit   Acts 8: 16,17 Acts 19: 4 – 7
    3. Laying hands on them after Baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit Acts 19: 4-7
      1. We cane a channel that God can use to give spiritual gifts to others by laying hands on people EXAMPLE: Timothy did when hands were laid on them. 1 Timothy 4: 14
      2. Why we lay hands on people when they are being baptized.

3. Used to be a channel

Through practice we become mature.

  1. Blessings over others
  2. Recognizing spiritual authority
  3. Blessing others through the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts