Transmission

Announcer:

This is Today With Derek Prince. The internationally recognized Bible teacher and author presents to you Keys to Successful Living.

Yesterday Derek Prince began his new topic ‘Transmitting God’s Power,’ by outlining for us the purposes of they laying on of hands to transmit blessings, authority and spiritual gifts, and to commission for ministry. Today as he continues his theme we’ll see more Old Testament examples and learn how being set apart and given spiritual authority for God’s service were put into effect by the laying on of hands. Be sure to listen at the end of today’s broadcast for our address and this week’s special offer.

Derek Prince:

You see it’s very precise. It was understood that the greater blessing would come from the father’s right hand. But it was so real that there was a real transmission of something, it was just not a formality. It wasn’t just for ceremony, it was a vital transaction in the lives of two young men, Ephraim and Manasseh. It really determined their destiny from then onwards. So let us never underestimate the significance and the importance of laying on of hands when it’s done by the Holy Spirit.

And then we’ll look in Numbers chapter 27 where we find that Moses was telling the Lord it’s time to appoint the leader who’s to follow me. Moses knew that he would not go into the Promised Land but he was very, very concerned about the people of God, Israel. And so Moses said to the Lord in Numbers 27:15:

“Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, ‘Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation . . .’”

I think that’s significant, He’s the God of the spirits of all flesh. He’s the God who knows the spirit of every person. He sees into the innermost depth of human character.

“Let the God of the spirits of all flesh set a man over the congregation who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no shepherd.”

And the whole Bible tells us from beginning to end that sheep without a shepherd will be scattered and will become a prey. It’s a message that runs consistently throughout the Bible. Let me suggest to you that unless circumstances are very unusual, each of you should have a human shepherd who will watch over your soul and care for you—very, very important. We’ll come back to that a little later as we study some other things.

“So, how did the Lord respond?
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. Set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation and commission him in their sight, and you shall give some of your authority to him.’”

I like that. Not all of your authority because Moses had unique authority. But, give him a good portion of your authority because he’s going to need it.

“‘You shall give some of your authority to him that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. He shall stand before Eleazar the priest who shall inquire before the Lord for him by the judgment of the Urim. At his word [that’s Joshua’s word] they shall go out and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the children of Israel with him.’
All the congregation.
So Moses did as the Lord commanded. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. And he laid his hands on him and commissioned him just as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses.”

You see, the whole congregation had to see this transmission of authority from Moses, the one whom they followed for forty years, to his successor. It was a vital transaction for the well being of all of God’s people.

Furthermore, it was not just a ceremony, something really happened to Joshua. In Deuteronomy chapter 34 we have this interesting comment. Deuteronomy 34:9:

“Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the Spirit of wisdom, for Moses laid his hands on him.”

So you see what he received from the laying on of hands? He received the Spirit of wisdom. It was not just a formality, not just a ceremony, it was a real transaction.

Now let’s go to one other example in the Old Testament which is in 2 Kings chapter 13. It’s the closing scene, really, in the ministry of Elisha. And yet, it wasn’t really a closing scene because you remember Elisha died and was buried, and then a band of raiders came in to invade Israel and the men who were going to bury another just had to dump the man in Elisha’s sepulcher and run off. When the dead man touched the bones of Elisha he came to life. That’s something, isn’t it? How wonderful it is that God’s power can be transferred in so many strange ways. Let’s read here in 2 Kings 13:14:

“And Elisha had become sick of the illness of which he would die . . .”

This is so, what would I say, it’s not what you would expect. He died of a sickness and yet his bones were so charged with the power of God that when a dead man contacted his bones he came alive. You can’t explain that. There are some things you can’t explain.

Let me just tell you something that happened, very briefly, because I’m so tired of people trying to account for everything that God does. In South Africa some years ago Ruth and I were ministering in an Assembly of God Church, and the associate pastor, a young man, had been playing squash, had fallen and broken his arm in four places. So he came to us for prayer and I said, ‘I know this sounds strange but I’m going to check your legs because this is what God has shown me to do. If your legs are unequal the short leg will grow out and you’ll know that God has touched you.’ Then I said, ‘Be very careful to thank God for it.’ So, you see, when people have a real need they’ll do all sorts of strange things they wouldn’t do at other times. And so he went through this ceremony, I held his leg, it grew out. I knew God had touched him. He went back to the doctor and was X-rayed. This is the thing I cannot explain. There had been four breaks in his arm. Three of them were perfectly healed, the fourth was still a break. The senior pastor said to me, ‘Explain that.’ I can’t explain it. I could say he had seventy-five percent faith but that would be a very unconvincing explanation. So, I’m so tired of people knowing everything that God has done and being able to explain it all. There are lots of things that God does I can’t explain. I’m quite content to leave them with God.

Anyhow, we go on with this story.

“Joash, the king of Israel, came down to Elisha and wept over his face and said, ‘O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen.’”

That was the same thing that Elisha himself had said to Elijah when he was taken up in the chariot. And that contains a message, really, for all of us. A man who really knows God can be the defense of a nation. He can be stronger than an army. And Joash, who was not a particularly godly king, recognized what Elisha meant to his people.

“And Elisha said to him, ‘Take a bow and some arrows.’ So he took himself a bow and some arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, ‘Put your hand on the bow.’ So he [that’s the king] put his hand on the bow and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. And he said, ‘Open the east window,’ [which was the direction of Syria, the enemy of Israel] and he opened it. And Elisha said, ‘Shoot,’ and he shot. And he said, ‘The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria, for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them.’”

And we find out that he struck with the arrows three times and three times Joash defeated the Syrians. Elisha was angry with him because he should have struck more times. But what I want to bring out is it was the putting of Elisha’s hands on the hands of the king when he held the bow that made it effective. Again it’s in the supernatural realm but it shows that something real can take place when one person lays hands on another.

Now let’s go to the New Testament and I want to consider the purposes indicated in the New Testament for the laying on of hands. First of all, to impart healing to the sick. Jesus said when He commissioned His disciples to God in Mark 16:16 and following:

“‘These signs shall follow them that believe . . .’
And the fifth sign was:
‘. . . they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.’
In other words, laying hands on the sick was a way of ministering God’s healing to the sick. In James chapter 5:14–15 there’s another ordinance. It says:
‘Is any sick among you [believers, Christians]? 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.’”

So that’s similar, they’re to pray over him, they’re to lay hands on him, but they’re also to anoint him with oil. And oil, as I’m sure you know, is always a type of the Holy Spirit. So the oil didn’t produce the healing but it symbolized the release of the Holy Spirit through that ceremony into the body of the sick person.

Now, I just have a suggestion to make. What’s the difference between just laying hands on or laying hands on and anointing with oil? I suggest to you, and this is just approximate, that the laying on of hands without the anointing of oil was for people who were not members of the church. But for members of the church the ordinance included anointing with oil. And again I want to point out to you that the New Testament indicates that normally every believer should be part of a congregation for he says, ‘Is any sick among you Christians? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing with oil.’ Now, if you go to one church on Sunday morning and another church on Sunday evening, which group of elders will you call for? And, if you don’t have elders to call for, what will you do when you’re sick? See? In other words, the New Testament assumes, with various exceptions, that a believer shall be a member of a congregation, known to the leadership, recognizing his leadership, and having available to him the ministry of the leadership.

Announcer:

In tomorrow’s message Derek Prince will continue his theme ‘Transmitting God’s Power,’ by giving us New Testament examples of the laying on of hands to impart healing and the gift of the Holy Spirit, as well as to commission for service in the church.

This message is available on audiocassette No. RC4166, and also on video. Our special offer this week is The Spirit-filled Believer’s Handbook. This indispensable foundational teaching for all believers draws from five decades of Bible teaching and study in the original Greek and Hebrew by Derek Prince. To receive your copy of ‘Transmitting God’s Power,’ write today and include a contribution of $5.00 or more for audiocassette RC4166,or $14.95 for the video teaching. Include a gift of $15.00 or more for The Spirit filled Believer’s Handbook.

Derek Prince also welcomes your letters and prayer requests. Our mailing address is Derek Prince Ministries, Box 19501, Charlotte, North Carolina 28219. That’s Derek Prince Ministries, Box 19501, Charlotte, North Carolina 28219. You may also call us at 1-800-448-3261. In Canada write to Derek Prince Ministries, Box 8354, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3K 5M1, and please give us the call letters of this station when you write.

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