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The Ministry of Laying of Hands 3 | The Believer's conference 2025 day 3

Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

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  1. Welcome to NECF sermons. Each message here is

  2. designed to uplift and strengthen you in your

  3. walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until

  4. the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive

  5. right in. You can have your seats. Genesis 48.

  6. Yes, we are moving. Genesis 48. We have already

  7. seen how the things of the Spirit are administered

  8. by the laying of hands, healings, the baptism

  9. of the Holy Ghost. Talk about that. We're going

  10. to see another dimension of how God Use this

  11. gift of God that Peter said. This power, this

  12. gift of God, this supernatural activity called

  13. the laying of hands in advancing his purpose

  14. and agenda on earth. Are you in Genesis 48? So

  15. I'll read from verse 8. Then Israel saw Joseph's

  16. sons and said, who are these? And Joseph said

  17. to his father, they are my sons whom God has

  18. given me in this place. And he said, please bring

  19. them to me and I will bless them. Now the eyes

  20. of Israel. were dimmed with age so that he could

  21. not see, then Joseph brought them near him. And

  22. he kissed them and embraced them. And Israel

  23. said to Joseph, I have not taught to see your

  24. face. But God, but in fact, God has also shown

  25. me your offerings. You can imagine the man that

  26. is not seen. See, I thought I would not see your

  27. face. But now I've seen even your offspring.

  28. So Joseph brought them from beside his knees.

  29. And he bowed down with his face to the earth.

  30. And Joseph took them both. Ephraim with his right

  31. hand. toward Israel's left hand and Manasseh

  32. with his left hand toward Israel's right hand

  33. and brought them near him. Then Israel stretched

  34. out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim's head

  35. who was the younger and his left hand on Manasseh's

  36. head guiding his hands knowingly. Please take

  37. note of that. He said, guiding his hands, knowingly.

  38. If it is your Bible, I want you to underline

  39. that. For Manasseh was the firstborn. And he

  40. blessed Joseph and said, God, before whom my

  41. father Abraham and Isaac walked. The God who

  42. has fed me all my life long to this day. The

  43. angel who redeemed me from all evil. You know,

  44. we're going to take that. But, you know, most

  45. times today when we say angel, we normally think

  46. of beings. But angel is not a specific name like

  47. to accord it to someone. If you see here, he's

  48. talking about God as an angel. You understand?

  49. Because angel talks about someone you sent. Understand?

  50. So we're going to subsequently look at that.

  51. But let me read 15 again. I want you to pay attention

  52. to that. And he blessed Joseph and said, God,

  53. before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,

  54. The God who has fed me all my life long to this

  55. day. The angel who redeemed, what? Who has redeemed

  56. me from all evil. So he's calling God the angel.

  57. Bless the Lord. Let my name. See that? Let my

  58. name be named upon them. And the name of my fathers.

  59. Abraham and Isaac. And let them grow into the

  60. multitude in the midst of the earth. Verse 17.

  61. Now, when Joseph saw his father laid his right

  62. hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him.

  63. So he took hold of his father's hand to remove

  64. it from Ephraim's head. to Manasseh's head. And

  65. Joseph said to his father, not so, my father,

  66. for this one is a firstborn. Put your right hand

  67. on his head. But his father refused and said,

  68. I what? I what? I know. Again, underline that

  69. one. I know, my son. I know. Again, the second

  70. time. He also. He also shall become a people.

  71. And also shall be great. But truly. His younger

  72. brother. Shall be greater than he. And his descendants.

  73. Shall be. Come a multitude of nations. Verse

  74. 20. So he blessed them. That they said. By you

  75. Israel. Will bless. Say may God. Make you as

  76. Ephraim and as Manasseh. And thus he set Ephraim

  77. before Manasseh. Meaning he set Ephraim ahead

  78. of Manasseh. Are we together? So go back to verse

  79. 10. Where is verse 10? Did you see that? That

  80. the eyes of Israel were dim with age. So that

  81. he could not see. Jacob. That is, Israel was

  82. not seen because of old age. If you read from

  83. verse 17, where we look at verse 17 down to 19.

  84. When Joseph saw that his father laid his hands

  85. upon the head of Ephraim, what did he do? He

  86. was displeased. And he wanted to change that

  87. order. But his father refused. This is to tell

  88. you that the laying of hands is not just merely

  89. physical touch. It's supernatural. Joseph knew.

  90. Israel also knew. Because his displeasure saw

  91. that there is something he is aware of. He knew

  92. that it's not just about just random putting

  93. of hands. No, it has significance. He saw that

  94. and said, no, no, no, no, something is wrong.

  95. So Joseph knew it. That what that was doing.

  96. Was not just ceremonial. It was spiritual. It

  97. was supernatural. That's why Joseph was not happy.

  98. With that order. No. He knew something was happening.

  99. Verse 19. Israel was blind. Of course as we noted.

  100. Though he was blind. But he was not spiritually

  101. dull. He was not spiritually dull. But the laying

  102. of hands, he set Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. He

  103. made Ephraim the younger, greater. How? By laying

  104. of hands. How can you set somebody who is younger

  105. and just make him to be, to carry, to become

  106. greater than another person who is in the natural,

  107. supposed to have taken the first place. He did

  108. that by the laying of hands. That's exactly what

  109. Abraham did to Isaac. And Isaac did to Jacob.

  110. By laying hands, they set them to function in

  111. the office of a prophet. The mouthpiece of God.

  112. Are we together? The mouthpiece of God. You see,

  113. in Genesis chapter 12, verse 1 to 3, we saw how

    Genesis 12:1–3

  114. God called Abraham and blessed him. Well, you

  115. see, something that sometimes we miss is that,

  116. how did God do it? He navigated a strange man

  117. towards Abraham's way. His name is called Melchizedek.

  118. You know, sometimes we just, you know, Melchizedek.

  119. The Bible tells us, you know, that Melchizedek

  120. bless who? He bless who? Is it money he gave

  121. him? Are we together? Is it money he gave him?

  122. So there was a, you see, there's a pattern we're

  123. seeing. Genesis 20 verse 7, God called Abraham

    Genesis 20:7

  124. a prophet. He was not just prophet anyhow. There

  125. was a system of men. Do you get what I'm trying

  126. to say? It was done to Abraham. Abraham to Isaac.

  127. Isaac to Jacob. Now Jacob to the sons of Joseph.

  128. It was a pattern. And this blessing we're talking

  129. about, it's not just, it's not money. Hallelujah.

  130. So God blesses. Yes. You know what I'm saying?

  131. We sing. God is the one that bless. But how does

  132. God does it? I mean, how did... Do you understand

  133. what I'm trying to say? How does he do it? To

  134. Abraham, he uses Melchizedek, who was a priest

  135. and a king. And that pattern continues. Men are

  136. the methods of God. Hallelujah. Don't ignore

  137. men and think something will just drop from heaven

  138. like that. God has decided he will side with

  139. man. Did you get what I'm trying to say? He will

  140. side with man. So, Abraham blessed Isaac. Isaac

  141. blessed Jacob. Jacob blessed Joseph's sons, Ephraim,

  142. And set Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. If you read

  143. Hebrews 11, you will see again that is being

  144. talked about. That order. Hebrews 11. Let me

  145. read Hebrews 7 first. Let's see that one of Melchizedek.

  146. You can see the involvement of men. What am I

  147. trying to say? I'm trying to say that, as we

  148. noted, let me make this thing clear. I will explain

  149. the issue of blessing in the psalm later on in

  150. the course. We understand that as we Those of

  151. us that have been in the cell, we've been treating

  152. this concept of rapture. We tried to study the

  153. background and history, where the word was coined

  154. and all that. One important thing we saw, there

  155. is a theology called the dispensational theology,

  156. that God has two plans for humanity in relation

  157. to sin and man's responsibility. That he has

  158. one plan for Israel and one plan for who? For

  159. the church. Are we together? And we then saw

  160. what they are saying. That God has several plans.

  161. I don't know how you, and we saw that the error

  162. is, you see, the little apostle said something

  163. yesterday. Every theology comes from Moses. Do

  164. you understand what I'm saying? If you miss what

  165. Moses is saying, you miss. Because every prophet

  166. read from him. You know, there is a time people

  167. try to argue about, I mean, try to defend the

  168. Bible. Say, these people, the Bible is written

  169. for over a certain number of authors. Over a

  170. period of 1 ,005 years. For 1 ,500 years. And

  171. they did not know each other. They did not know.

  172. Of course, they might not be contemporaries in

  173. many instances. Some are. But no, they read.

  174. When Daniel saw the number of years that the

  175. children of Israel were supposed to spend in

  176. Babylon, where did he read? Where was he reading?

  177. He was reading Jeremiah. Did you understand what

  178. I'm saying? These people read each other. How

  179. could they? Where will they be reading? All of

  180. them read from us. That was why when Jesus was

  181. talking about Luke 24, he said, beginning at

  182. what? Moses. He's always the one. Beginning at

  183. Moses. And in all the prophets, he expounded

  184. unto them the things concerning himself. So I

  185. want you to get that. So one of the things we

  186. saw in ourselves is that there is a confusion

  187. around interpretation. The scripture was read

  188. literally. Do you know what I'm saying? It was

  189. read literally. But that was a mystery. Oh, thank

  190. God for Passover. You see, that was a mystery

  191. that was hid for past ages. They thought. Then

  192. we see some people. That's why I'm pointing that.

  193. Part of the dispensational theology is that there's

  194. something we call Christian Zionism. You understand?

  195. And their claim is that you have to bless Israel

  196. for you to be blessed. I've been to Israel, I've

  197. been here and there for research for one year,

  198. in the sun. I mean, I don't understand how we

  199. are getting this. But where did they quote? They

  200. quote Genesis 12 to support that. That because

  201. Abraham is the father of the nation of Israel,

  202. in the sun, the nation of Israel. I don't know

  203. how they say the nation of Israel. Because the

  204. nation of Israel, that one, is not the same with

  205. this one. Because what nation was before? was

  206. not the same with what nation is today. This

  207. current state of Israel is about 80 % Jews, 20

  208. % Arabs. So I don't understand. So do the Arabs

  209. also join in the... Did you get what I'm trying

  210. to say? So that you have to, he said, I will

  211. bless those that blessed you and curse those

  212. that cursed you. And so when you read it literally,

  213. and because we came from material... materialistic

  214. environment, each time they say blessing, that's

  215. what we normally think. But you see, the Bible

  216. must be read together. You understand? The Bible

  217. must be read together. That's why we saw, it's

  218. not just at that very time that God spoke to

  219. Abraham. He said, I will bless you. By the time

  220. you go to chapter 18, he told him how, he said,

  221. through your seed. And of course, he's talking

  222. about the whole world, not a nation. He said,

  223. through you, the entire earth, all families of

  224. the earth shall be what? Shall be blessed. The

  225. issue is that once you are intelligent, you should

  226. follow. By the time he goes to chapter 18, he

  227. again reiterated. But this time around, he restated

  228. it in another way. He said, through your seed.

  229. So Abraham got it. Because how will Abraham ever

  230. be able to bless the entire nation? Definitely,

  231. it will be something that through him, not him,

  232. because he is limited. Did you understand what

  233. I'm trying to say? So God opened him. He said,

  234. it's through your seed. So that before you think

  235. he's talking about Isaac, you understand? He

  236. said, no, no, no. No. Chapter 22, he again came

  237. and restated it. 24, 28, he came and restated

  238. it. The same thing. Brother Paul came in Galatians

    Galatians 3 chapter mention

  239. chapter 3 and showed to us that seed is Christ.

  240. When Peter was explaining in Acts chapter 3,

    Acts 3 chapter mention

  241. he quoted the same text. I just mention now.

  242. He said, God sent Christ, Jesus. Verse 26, he

  243. said, to bless you. How? He said, by turning

  244. you away from your iniquities. So the blessings

  245. of God is about turning a people away from their

  246. iniquities. That's the blessing. Galatians 3,

  247. from 6, 8, you know, shows to us also that the

  248. blessing, It's talking about inclusion into the

  249. plan of God. And that inclusion comes with you

  250. being given the gift of righteousness. With you

  251. being forgiven. So to be blessed, it means to

  252. be included in the agenda of God. And to be cursed

  253. is to exclude yourself. From the what? From the

  254. agenda. He is not casting a spell. Are we together?

  255. Amen. Amen. Yes. So that's what the Bible is

  256. talking about. Paul will say, you know, son,

  257. for the sake of my people, I wish that I will

  258. be accursed. You know what I mean by the accursed?

  259. It means I wish that I should be what? Excluded.

  260. But you see, it's also a wish. He said, if my

  261. people would just be safe. How I wish I would

  262. be excluded in the sun. He's just talking about,

  263. he's just showing how zealous he act. Remember

  264. I said, cost is what to be excluded from the

  265. plant. He was yearning that, oh, how this my

  266. people can be, I mean, can be included. If only

  267. all these people will be able to see by just

  268. me being removed for them to enter. These are

  269. men that are carrying burden. But that's not

  270. the way. Everybody will have to come in by his

  271. own way. So our cause is being excluded from

  272. the plan of God. And that comes by unbelief.

  273. So the blessing. So a Christian Zionist think,

  274. you know what I'm saying? That is by blessing

  275. Israel, contributing money, by saying Israel

  276. bless, Israel bless this Israel here. You know

  277. what I'm saying? That's when they are blessed.

  278. How can a blessed man be thinking like that?

  279. But David said, Psalm 32 verse 1, Blessed is

    Psalms 32:1

  280. the man in the Son, in whom the Lord does not

  281. impute iniquity. In the Son. Are we together?

  282. Amen. So, that is the part I'm talking about.

  283. So when you hear of blessing, it's an inclusion.

  284. into the agenda of God. But that inclusion into

  285. the agenda of God comes with responsibility.

  286. So when you hear that Jacob blessed Ephraim,

  287. what he's trying to say is that he's enlisting

  288. him. He is commissioning him. He is ordaining

  289. him into the ministry. Ministry of what? Ministry

  290. of proclamation of that goodness of God. Genesis,

  291. 27, he said, God said, he's a prophet. A prophet

  292. is a mouthpiece of God. The one that tells about

  293. the agenda, his plans for the earth. And that's

  294. the same thing. So what can we see? We can see

  295. that laying of our hands is a way of ordination,

  296. of enlisting men into offices. That you can lay

  297. hands to put men into offices. Right from Genesis.

  298. It's all ceremonial. When hands are laid, things

  299. happen. Great blessings are ministered through

  300. men. Man remains God's method. Man remains God.

  301. Yesterday I said, this Bible is written by man.

  302. And we call it God's word. That's to show you

  303. God does, in fact, there's a text that says that

  304. God does nothing without what? Revealing it to

  305. who? To his prophets. Yes. He chose it that way.

  306. You want to know God? Follow me. I'm telling

  307. you, no angel will reveal anything. Even the

  308. angel they are trying to look. You know what

  309. I'm saying? Yes. We saw it yesterday. In Ephesians

  310. 3, we saw it. In 1 Peter, we saw it. It is through

  311. us that God wants to show the manifold wisdom

  312. to the principalities. So why will you be surprised

  313. when you see an angel? No. You should know he

  314. has come to learn. Now, as we are preaching,

  315. we are teaching, we are exposing. You understand?

  316. No angel have the capacity to get into this mind

  317. of God. Oh, did you hear me? These are exclusive

  318. preserve of sons. Sons are those who carry the

  319. Holy Ghost. No angel carry the Holy Spirit. Did

  320. you understand what I'm saying? Yes. So we are

  321. the custodians of the mysteries of God. Do you

  322. remember the teaching yesterday? We are the custodians.

  323. We are ministers. Paul will say, the stewards

  324. of grace of God. We write in Acts, right? Acts

    Acts 6 chapter mention

  325. chapter 6. Go back there, quickly. Oh, did I

  326. read that text? Hebrews. Oh. Hallelujah. Let

  327. me read Hebrews first. Hebrews 1. For this Melchizedek,

  328. king. Verse 7. And chapter 7. For this Melchizedek,

  329. king of Salem, priest of the Most High, who met

  330. Abraham returning from where? From the slaughter

  331. of the kings and blessed him. Did you hear that?

  332. Verse 6. He said, but he whose genealogy is not

  333. derived from them received tithe. from Abraham

  334. and blessed him who had promises. Who had promises.

  335. Melchizedek blessed him. Nobody told Abraham

  336. to pay tithes. It was a practice in where he

  337. was coming from. You know, it's from the children

  338. of U. That's how they honor people. That's why,

  339. even though we don't, you can give tithe, no

  340. problem. You know, sir. But nobody, nothing will

  341. follow you if you didn't give it. But of course,

  342. we're commanded. To be generous givers. That's

  343. a New Testament practice. But we can learn something

  344. from the tithe. That's honor. Because Abraham

  345. is coming. And that's the same thing. I'm going

  346. to discuss some other things. The same thing

  347. with oil. Because I'm pouring oil on people.

  348. When he started, nobody ever told Jacob to do

  349. that. Jacob was the one who started. On his way

  350. when he was going to the house of Lebanon. Right?

  351. For the air. The air. Is it air or air? For the

  352. things he saw. To honor the place, he pour oil.

  353. It's a practice in those days. Even in your village,

  354. when they want to take something, that's the

  355. practice now. Do you know what I'm saying? Yes.

  356. Some will pour on the floor first. So, it was

  357. a practice, but God adopted it with time. Remember

  358. we told you, God accommodated. The limitations

  359. of the culture and the language of a people to

  360. be able to communicate his plan. So we saw honor.

  361. He honored the man of God. He honored Melchizedek

  362. and Melchizedek blessed him. Look at chapter

  363. 11. Chapter 11, verse 17. Hebrews 11, 17. By

  364. faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up

  365. Isaac, and he who had received the promise, offered

  366. up his only begotten. Of whom, verse 18, it was

  367. said, in Isaac your seed shall be called, according

  368. that God was able to raise him up, even from

  369. the dead, from which he also received him in

  370. a figurative sense. 20. By faith, Isaac blessed

  371. Jacob and Esau concerning the things to come.

  372. By faith, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed who?

  373. Each of the sons of Joseph and worshipped, leaning

  374. on the staff, top of his staff. And all we can

  375. keep reading are what others did. Go back to

  376. Acts chapter 6. Acts chapter 6. Look at verse

    Acts 6 chapter mention Acts 6 chapter mention

  377. 5. And the same pleased the multitude. And they

  378. chose Stephen, a man full of faith. The Holy

  379. Spirit and Philip procured us. Parmenas, Nicholas,

  380. and Nicholas, a proselyte from Antioch, whom

  381. they said before the apostles when they had prayed,

  382. they laid hands on them. You see that? They chose

  383. them for an office. This camera is not for healing.

  384. So the laying of hands is not just for healing.

  385. It's also for ordination. for commissioning men

  386. into an office, into a work, into the ministry.

  387. They lay hands on them. Not the pattern, they

  388. pray it. After praying, they lay hands on them.

  389. Prayer is not a substitute for laying of hands.

  390. You understand? It's not you pray or you lay

  391. hands. No. All of them are a system of God that

  392. men use to transmit the power of God. To cause

  393. shifting, to advance the agenda of the kingdom

  394. on the earth. So see what happened when hands

  395. were laid to these men. See how they increased.

  396. That was brought about. Something happened. Always

  397. I wanted to observe. Immediately after hands

  398. are laid. Observe what happened. It's not ceremonial.

  399. Verse 7. Then the word of God spread. You see.

  400. Sometimes you think. What happened is just only

  401. what the apostles were doing. Wait until you

  402. read chapter 7. How a man who is supposed to

  403. be one who is supposed to be serving food starts

  404. speaking for the entire chapter. He wasn't reading

  405. from his script. Did you get what I'm trying

  406. to say? Are we together? Hands were laid. Before

  407. then, you never know who they were. Did you know?

  408. You didn't know. But they were choosing, they

  409. brought them. They set them before the apostles.

  410. It wasn't a coincidence. It was deliberate. They

  411. lay hands on them. Bible says, and the word of

  412. God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied

  413. greatly in Jerusalem. And a great many of the

  414. priests were obedient to the faith. And Stephen,

  415. full of faith and power, Did great what? Great

  416. wonders and signs among the people. Up until

  417. this moment, did you hear ever name Stevie? Something

  418. happened. All the time we'll be hearing apostles.

  419. And the apostles did great wonders. And this,

  420. this. And then they preach. And things happen.

  421. You know, sir? This time around, they brought

  422. this man. They lay hands on them. Things happened.

  423. They were commissioned into another level of

  424. ministry. And the word of God increased. Great

  425. miracles. Then there arose some from what is

  426. called the synagogue of the freedmen. They are

  427. not free. The synagogue of the freedmen. Then

  428. what did they do? They started disputing. with

  429. Stephen. And they were not able to resist his

  430. wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke. And

  431. then they started secretly. When these guys started

  432. speaking, you could know that this man was in

  433. another level. You could see later when the disciples

  434. were scattered, the man which you thought that

  435. was serving tables, you didn't know that a grace

  436. has come upon him. He moved to Samaria. The other

  437. one, Philip, started preaching. Miracles happening.

  438. He was a man who was not known before. But they

  439. brought him. The apostles lay hands on him. And

  440. things began to happen. This is how God advanced

  441. his ways on the earth. Are we together? Hallelujah,

  442. are we together? Go back to that text where I

  443. started. Yesterday. In Romans chapter 1. I showed

    Romans 1 chapter mention

  444. you something. Did you see what I showed you?

  445. In verse 11. For I long to see you. That I may

  446. impart. You some spiritual gift. So that you

  447. may be established. So that you may be established.

  448. So there's a goal for the laying of hands is

  449. to establish believers. As we teach fundamentally,

  450. yes, we establish men by teaching. But not just

  451. teaching. There's a laying of hands that establish

  452. a man in the ministry. Don't joke with it. It's

  453. a system of God. If you have not understood it,

  454. you just carelessly don't order. You know, sometimes

  455. you have to pay attention. Some of us are sick.

  456. Sometimes you'll be sick. You see, when you neglect

  457. a grace, you won't benefit from it. James said,

  458. is any one of you sick? Call the elders. You,

  459. you are sick. You only gave us excuse. So I'm

  460. not going to come. I mean, how could you not

  461. see grace around you? Thank the Lord. The Lord

  462. has given pastors curse now. He says, I need

  463. you. I come, please. They will come. You have

  464. to honor the grace. Do you understand what I'm

  465. saying? Yes. If you cannot reach pastor, there

  466. is your leader there. In fact, your brother inside,

  467. remember I told you that all believers, your

  468. sister is there in the room, you neglected her.

  469. You can only say, Titi, Titi only, this place

  470. is burning me. But now, That's the only thing.

  471. Chichi, can you go and buy me? I cannot go out.

  472. That's the only thing you think Chichi is useful.

  473. Chichi is carrying a grace. You couldn't recognize

  474. it. You only think she's useful. And go to the

  475. market and buy me this. I can't go out now. Okay,

  476. sit down there. This is one of the difficulties

  477. we have. You have to begin to see your brethren

  478. differently. Wives, see your husband differently.

  479. Husband, see your wife differently. It's all

  480. the time. There was a lady who was about to get

  481. married. When I heard the way they are conversing,

  482. I call her. I say, you will miss a lot if you

  483. control like this. The way you are speaking with

  484. your husband, you speak carelessly. You know

  485. what I'm saying? And the way you see him, only

  486. in one direction. You're going to get in trouble.

  487. This is one of the things that married people

  488. need to understand. Your relationship is multidimensional.

  489. Yes, there is a time you think you will play

  490. like friends. But if you only think like friends,

  491. you'll miss a lot. I'm telling you. Others will

  492. be coming and be receiving the grace. You are

  493. here. Do you understand what I'm saying? So you

  494. have to be careful. The same thing if you have

  495. a roommate. He's a believer. See him that way.

  496. That should be the most important relationship

  497. you should have with him. Every other should

  498. come under that one. You have to recognize what

  499. is behind you. That's how God made it. All that

  500. we need to grow in the son. You know, we normally

  501. quote that scripture according to his divine

  502. power. He has given unto us what? All things

  503. that pertains to life and goodness. Are we together?

  504. We normally quote that. Brother, he said, I have

  505. all things. And the old is there you didn't see.

  506. You did not see. I pray your eyes is open. After

  507. this meeting, Your eyes are open to see the provisions

  508. of God. To see that the grace you need to move

  509. to another level is just beside you. Amen. He

  510. said that I might impart you some spiritual gift.

  511. And the reason, the goal is that you might be

  512. established. Is that you might be established.

  513. You observe there is something upon my brother's

  514. life. It seems as if anything happened. He doesn't

  515. get bothered in the sun. You know, some of our

  516. mummies are here. Before, Mummy Iko, Mummy Victoria,

  517. in the sun. You know, many of us, sometimes I

  518. watch, I just might say, oh God. You know, the

  519. way we relate with them. The last one of Mummy

  520. Iko. He's older than me. How older than me? I'm

  521. a young person, but he's far older than me. And

  522. this woman, he raised them. They were all sound.

  523. He's not a mystic. When you see a consistency,

  524. it's not by, it's not a coincidence. I dragged

  525. my wife. Then we were newly married. We visited

  526. all of them. You say, mommy, how was it? Yes,

  527. sir. You can't say a grace and neglect. All of

  528. them, we visited them. Do you get what I'm trying

  529. to say? We visited them, we sat with them, and

  530. we asked them, mommy, what is this? And they

  531. were downloaded. And they were downloaded. And

  532. you hear, you are seeing that it's just all this

  533. old mama. She's moving like that. That is it.

  534. God must give you the sensitivity to see the

  535. provisions. No, I can't make mistake. Not when

  536. I have the provision around me. How can I stay

  537. in ignorance? How can I see a grace? Some of

  538. them, they are just in the same room. You are

  539. busy looking for one man of God here. What is

  540. it? You are here. They're here. Are we together?

  541. That word gift there, that spiritual gift, of

  542. course you know it's spiritual. And that's why

  543. the impartation is spiritual. Because what comes

  544. upon you is spiritual. Are we together? It's

  545. a spiritual gift. It's charisma. In Greek. I'll

  546. leave that to Pastor Imam Kostin. They are coming

  547. to dishes. We look at the word impart. What is

  548. that word impart? Because he said that I might

  549. impart you some spiritual gift. The word impart

  550. is metadomai. Meta from the word meta. M -E -T

  551. -A M -E -T -A D -I D -O M -I Meta Didomai in

  552. Greek. It means to share. To share or to give.

  553. To share or to give. You have to know that the

  554. person giving or sharing is the one who has what

  555. to give or to share. So Paul was coming. He said,

  556. I have it. You remember as Peter said to that

  557. man at the beautiful girl. He said, what I have,

  558. I give you. Please, brother, I told you men are

  559. the system of God. They have something. Peter

  560. knew he have it. He said, silver and gold, have

  561. I not? But there is something I have. And that

  562. is what I give you. He has. The power to heal.

  563. He said, in the name of Jesus. He pulled a guy.

  564. You have it. So Paul here is saying, I am coming.

  565. I have something to share. And it's called spiritual

  566. gift. Remember, he told them the goal. That they

  567. might be established. Remember Ephesians chapter

    Ephesians 4 chapter mention

  568. 4? It talks about the ministry gifts there. That

  569. they are for what? For equipping. Are we together?

  570. For what? For equipping. On to what? The work

  571. of the ministry. Remember. This is based on the

  572. testimony Paul has heard about the church in

  573. Rome. Did you see in verse 8? Romans 1 verse

    Romans 1:8

  574. 8. He said, first and foremost, he said, first

  575. I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all

  576. that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole

  577. world. throughout the whole world. So he heard

  578. about their faith. He said, ah, there needs to

  579. be more advancement here. I yearn to come because

  580. I need to establish you more. And for which reason?

  581. For the sake of the ministry. So Paul is an apostle.

  582. He's in the office of an apostle. Ministry gifts.

  583. And the ministry gifts are for equipping. He's

  584. coming to equip them more. He's coming to equip

  585. them more. So as hands are laid on you, know

  586. that they are to equip you. Are we together?

  587. As hands are laid on you, they are to equip you.

  588. You know, my grandmother, my grandfather was

  589. a missionary. And so, yeah, he's dead already.

  590. But I have the grandmother. One day, I visited

  591. her. I consciously, I told her, I need you to

  592. pray for me. I know the grace of that old man.

  593. Although he's not here, but he's also on you.

  594. I deliberately told her, I want you to pray for

  595. me. You see, you don't be careless. Some of the

  596. graces, they are inside your house. You saw what

  597. Jesus said. A prophet is what? You have to be

  598. deliberate. You have to be deliberate. They say

  599. grace upon the old man. And they were together.

  600. Even when in my mother church, women are not

  601. normally allowed to recoup it. That old man,

  602. because he's a missionary, he's a rugged man.

  603. Sometimes if he moves to another place, the woman,

  604. she's the one that preaches in the church. So

  605. she's his assistant. They move together. He has

  606. the grace of perseverance, endurance. He doesn't

  607. see obstacles. In the border of Nigeria, that

  608. was when he did his ministry. Brother, he stayed

  609. there for 15 years. He has only one soul. For

  610. 15 years, he was preaching. You see, when I think

  611. about it, that scripture come alive. You see,

  612. preach the word in season and out of season.

  613. There come a time when people shall not endure

  614. sound doctrine. If it were others, they would

  615. say it's a failure. How could a man stay in a

  616. place for 15 years? Everyday preaching. Talking

  617. to people. Some will say, you know, the Muslim

  618. part of Nigeria. Some will come because of persecution.

  619. They will return. As if they come, they will

  620. go again. Because they are afraid. Only one stood.

  621. After 15 years. By the time he was retiring,

  622. he moved out from that place, back home. He only

  623. had one soul for three years. Because he got

  624. born again. That's not the call of God. While

  625. already he has married, he's old. There's no

  626. time for you to do the work of God. He was in

  627. the village farming and he was a hunter. Then

  628. when he got the call of God, he became born again

  629. and then he entered. Even though he was already

  630. an adult. How much of you know that you're young?

  631. Imagine what you would do. The answer to the

  632. call, he moved. Went there. Stay there. At least

  633. one soul. One soul matter. That soul that he

  634. succeeded, the same soul from that time, they

  635. persecuted him for his truth. Later on, the same

  636. man, they took him, he went to school. Some pastor

  637. schools. He didn't go anywhere. He returned to

  638. the village. He preached. Through him. Mighty.

  639. You can see. See. You see. We care for ministry

  640. of numbers. We love numbers. Because anybody

  641. that care about soul, we care about numbers.

  642. Do you get what I'm trying to say? But you have

  643. to be aware how God judges men. If you read Hebrews

  644. 11. What is the business of putting Moses and

  645. Rahab the prostitute in the same line? How did

  646. you come there? All of them is why? By faith.

  647. Did you get what I'm trying to say? Read there.

  648. If you are the one to put those lists, what we

  649. call the heroes of faith, how can you put some

  650. other people there? How? He succeeded with one

  651. man. But that one soul later, what he did in

  652. that town, So, that one soul that he succeeded

  653. with was an extension of the old man. Don't look

  654. down on what God is bringing to you. So, you

  655. have writing a song, even if you see one view.

  656. Believe it. For years, the look the physician

  657. was writing. He documented, go and ask questions.

  658. Do you know what it means to record? He wasn't

  659. there, but sat down and write. And he was all

  660. writing for somebody who is not pregnant. Theophilus

  661. has been taught already. But he wants him to

  662. be assured, to be established. That's what he

  663. said. To be assured of what you have already

  664. been taught. He sat down and wrote to one man.

  665. Again, when he was writing the book of Acts,

  666. he said, oh, excellent, Theophilus. In that former

  667. treaty, what I began to tell you, what Jesus

  668. began to do and to teach is something. And then

  669. he was following Paul up and down, documenting

  670. the things, following Paul up and down, documenting

  671. the things, just to give one person. Your idea

  672. about God's work has to be changed. This... This

  673. desire for approval, this desire for applause

  674. of plenty of people have to go. Because you can't

  675. have the quality of what God wants you. Our desire

  676. is more people, but on his own way. Did you get

  677. what I'm trying to say? Moses wanted to do his

  678. own way. He strangulated the Egyptians and killed

  679. them. He thought he was by that. In fact, he

  680. was thinking that the people would see that God

  681. is the Savior. Why can't you see now? No. God

  682. said no. He's not qualified. There are some things

  683. I need to change in his mind. He then took him

  684. and took him to the medium. To Jethro. Jethro

  685. just polished his head. You understand? This

  686. is before the Levitican priesthood. So there

  687. was a priest of God called Jethro. Even the Levitican

  688. priesthood. When you trace him, you trace him.

  689. He was part of the descendants of Abraham. Through

  690. Keturah. Did you understand what I'm saying?

  691. So Abraham, that's why God says, shall I hide

  692. anything from myself and Abraham? Knowing fully

  693. well that this is what he will do. Although you

  694. don't know them, but they have gone with the

  695. knowledge of the Most High. Suddenly appear somewhere

  696. in the desert. You think the knowledge of God

  697. is only with the Israelites who are in this.

  698. No. God navigated Moses' path and took him to

  699. that place. And Jethro trained him. And when

  700. after 40 years, he said, okay, I think you can

  701. go now. But he has learned his lessons. And God

  702. showed to him in the sun. Say no. This time around

  703. you have to believe me. Go with my power. No

  704. wonder the type of miracles he did. This time

  705. around no. It's not by hand. It's not by boxing.

  706. How many will you do? If Moses would go and say

  707. I will box. He doesn't have anything. In the

  708. sun. There are the ways of God. For the weapons

  709. of our warfare are not carnal. But they are mighty

  710. through God to the pulling down of strongholds.

  711. Are we together? You have to lay hold of the

  712. weapons of our warfare. They are not canal. You

  713. are not canal. You are a spiritual man. There

  714. are instruments. There are systems. There are

  715. methods. You understand? And one of it is your

  716. hands. And God is sending you to understand that

  717. he has power. He wants to move through you. It's

  718. a laying of hands. It's a laying. Of hands. So

  719. tell your neighbor. You need impartation. To

  720. be established. You need hands to be laid upon

  721. you. To be established. After you have been taught.

  722. You need your hands. To get to work. But before

  723. then. You need hands to be laid upon you. Hallelujah.

  724. Look at Acts 13. Now in the church that was at

  725. Antioch, there was certain prophets and teachers,

  726. Barnabas, Simeon, who was called Niga, Lucius

  727. of Cyrene, Manion. who had been brought up with

  728. Herod, the tetra, and Saul. Verse 2. As they

  729. ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit

  730. said, Now separate to me Barnabas and Saul for

  731. the work to which I have called them. Verse 3.

  732. Then. having fasted and prayed, and laid hands

  733. on them. And they sent them away. They sent them

  734. away. They just finished ministry, fulfilled

  735. ministry. Look at 12. It's in the rate for us

  736. already. Look at 12. Verse 25. And Barnabas and

  737. Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled

  738. their ministry. And... They also took with them

  739. John Mark, whose surname was Mark. Oh, John,

  740. whose surname was Mark. Amen? Yes. They just

  741. returned. In verse 2, in Antioch, they ministered

  742. to the Lord and fasted. The Holy Spirit said,

  743. say, pray to me. Say, pray to me, Barnabas. And

  744. so for the work which I have called them. Don't

  745. mind. Saul and Paul is the same thing. It's just

  746. that Paul is a Roman name. Saul is a Jewish name.

  747. Are we together? It's not that Saul, when he

  748. was a sinner, and now Paul, when he's a... Are

  749. we together? You know he's a Roman citizen also.

  750. Amen? So the word separate, you know, it's powerful

  751. there. It's translated from the Greek word aphorizo.

  752. A -P -H -O. A -P -H -O -R -I -Z -O. Aphorizo

  753. is a verb there, which means to appoint or to

  754. set apart for some purpose. For some purpose.

  755. To set apart. For some purpose. That place we

  756. read. Romans chapter 1. Is the same word used

    Romans 1 chapter mention

  757. here. Romans chapter 1 verse 1. Paul a born servant

    Romans 1:1

  758. of Jesus Christ. Called to be apostle. Separated.

  759. To the gospel of God. Which he promised before.

  760. Through his prophet. In the holy scriptures.

  761. So that's the same word. Afrizo. To separate.

  762. For a purpose. 2 Corinthians 6 .17. 2 Corinthians

  763. 6 .17. And take the helmet. Sorry. Therefore,

  764. come out from among them and be what? And be

  765. separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is

  766. unclean, and I will receive it. He's talking

  767. about set yourself apart. Because there's a difference

  768. between holiness and unrighteousness, or the

  769. believer and unbeliever. Galatians 1, 15. Galatians

  770. 1, 15. But when it pleases God who separated

  771. me, meaning who set me apart from my mother's

  772. womb and called me through his grace, through

  773. his grace, he separated me. So that is the word

  774. there. He says separate me. Set them apart. He's

  775. not just saying, just take them away. No, what

  776. he's saying that, he said, ordain them for the

  777. next walk. Did you understand what I'm saying?

  778. In other words, I want you to empower, and these

  779. people understood what the Holy Spirit is saying.

  780. So after the utterance, they know how you separate

  781. men is by what? Laying of hands. They knew. So

  782. that's why after they have prayed, What did they

  783. do? They responded to what the author said. They

  784. laid their hands and sent them away. That, you

  785. see, the fact that, listen. Did you remember

  786. that Paul, hands were laid on Paul? In Acts chapter

    Acts 9 chapter mention

  787. 9. Do you remember that? In Damascus. We get

  788. again, we saw, after they finished work in Jerusalem,

  789. they are going to another work. Hands were laid

  790. on them. You must never outgrow the need for

  791. impartation. You must never outgrow The need

  792. for impartation. The fact that hands were laid

  793. on you some time ago does not mean that's all.

  794. There are faces in your assignment. You might

  795. finish one work here. As Paul and Barnabas in

  796. Jerusalem, they were praying. They say, oh, there

  797. is another one. They lay hands on them. Paul

  798. later reminded Timothy that hands were laid on

  799. him. Did you understand what I'm saying? Look

  800. at 1 Timothy chapter 4. 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse

    1 Timothy 4 chapter mention 1 Timothy 4:14

  801. 14. Do not neglect the gifts. You see that again?

  802. He told the church in Rome, I want to come to

  803. you so that I might impart spiritual gifts. Now

  804. he was reminding them, reminding Timothy, something

  805. came upon you. He said, do not neglect the gift

  806. that is in you, which was given to you by the

  807. prophecy with the laying of hands of the eldership.

  808. He now again reiterated that in 2 Timothy 1 .6.

  809. Therefore, I remind you to stir up the gifts

  810. which is in you through the laying of my hands.

  811. It appears hands were laid on him twice. In the

  812. first letter, he said through the laying of hands

  813. of the eldership. That could be the authority

  814. of the church or elders. But now he specifically

  815. said through the laying of my hands. I can imagine

  816. how Paul have laid hands. Of course, how can

  817. you have a son in the faith like that? And you

  818. have not laid eyes. Remember what he said. You

  819. have carefully followed my word, my doctrine,

  820. my manner of life. Definitely, you must have

  821. laid hands on him. Do you remember? The reminder

  822. was to make Timothy to produce the fruit from

  823. the impartation through the laying of hands.

  824. So there's an expectation. When hands are laid

  825. upon you, there's an expectation of something

  826. supposed to come out of it. Because it's not

  827. just ceremonial. It's an impartation and there

  828. is an expectation. And the expectation is that

  829. there's supposed to be some fruits. In your commitment.

  830. In the fruit of ministry. Just like we saw in

  831. Acts chapter 6. Hands were laid upon them. We

    Acts 6 chapter mention

  832. begin to see wonders. Men who were unknown, they

  833. became known. Begin to operate in a new dimension.

  834. Men who are to serve tables, suddenly they are

  835. catching territories, bringing joy to cities.

  836. Bringing joys to cities. I want you to notice

  837. something. That in Act 13, there were prophets

  838. and teachers. They knew the method of God. The

  839. lane of hands is how they transmitted the power

  840. of God. And the power of God is for the advancement

  841. of the work. Because it's a work which he has

  842. called him. He says, separate me. You understand?

  843. For the work. Means, I need this man to be empowered

  844. for the work which I have called him. And they

  845. knew it. Oh. The work of the Spirit on the earth

  846. is advanced through the laying of hands. And

  847. through the laying of my hands, the work of God

  848. is advanced in my generation. That should be

  849. your prayer as well. That as I lay hands on people,

  850. men as established, the word of God increase.

  851. There is great joy to cities, to territories,

  852. to nations. To nations. To nations. Act 14. Look

  853. at Act 14. I want you to notice a pattern here,

  854. just the same way like we have gone. Did you

  855. notice that when it comes to this type of ordinations

  856. into specific ministries, it's not done to any

  857. person. Have you noticed something? When they

  858. were asking those to take an office, they didn't

  859. call random anybody. They said, choose among

  860. you. And they gave criteria. Did you observe

  861. that? So when they chose them, they lay hands

  862. on them. Again, here in Act 13, did you observe

  863. that? These were teachers and what? And prophets.

  864. Are we together? Look at Act 14. Now it happened

  865. in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue

  866. of the Jews and spoke to the great multitude

  867. both of Jews and of the Greek belief. But The

  868. unbelievers, unbelieving Jews, stare at the Gentiles

  869. and poison their minds against the brethren.

  870. Verse 3. Therefore they stayed there a long time,

  871. speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing

  872. witness to the word of his grace, granting signs

  873. and wonders to be done by their hands. Note that

  874. it was a long time they stayed. And the reason

  875. is because they are building disciples. So, in

  876. the conium, they stay there, preaching, performing

  877. great signs and wonders. Are we together? Through

  878. their hands, laying hands in the sand. Establishing

  879. men. Are we together? Establishing men. Establishing

  880. men. Look at. After then, what was formed? The

  881. multitude of the city was divided. Parts. sided

  882. with the Jews and part with the apostles. And

  883. when a violent attempt was made by both the Jews,

  884. the Gentiles and Jews with their rulers to abuse

  885. and stone them, they became aware of it and fled

  886. to Lystra. So they moved to Lystra and Derbe,

  887. cities of Lycaonia. and to the surrounding regions.

  888. Look at verse 7. And they were preaching the

  889. gospel there. So they preached again there. But

  890. by then in Iconium, they have made disciples

  891. because it's still a long time there. Laying

  892. hands, establishing them, teaching them. They

  893. come also to Lystra, they do the same thing.

  894. Are we together? They did the same thing. They

  895. did the same thing. By the time you move, there

  896. was another confusion. Move to verse 19. Remember,

  897. after they say, separate me, Paul and Barnabas,

  898. you know they are from Antioch. Right? So in

  899. verse 19, he said, then the Jews from Antioch

  900. and Iconium, remember those who do trouble in

  901. Iconium, that they moved to Debi and Lystra and

  902. the surrounding region. Again, they came, they

  903. heard that they had moved to another city, they

  904. went and caused trouble. And having persuaded

  905. a multitude, they stoned Paul and dragged him

  906. out of the city, supposing him to be dead. However,

  907. when the disciples gathered around him, he arose

  908. up and went into the city. And the next day he

  909. departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they

  910. had preached the gospel to the city and made

  911. many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Icunium,

  912. and Antioch. You understand? When the dust calmed

  913. down, all those troublemakers, they thought they

  914. have moved. They returned back again. Because

  915. they have made disciples there. What did they

  916. do when they have returned? He strengthened them,

  917. verse 22, the souls of the disciples. You see

  918. that? Yes. He strengthened them, exhorting them

  919. to continue in faith and saying, we must, through

  920. many tribulations, enter the kingdom of God.

  921. Verse 23. So when, They had appointed elders

  922. in every church. Do you see that? First is not

  923. appointing of elders. First is a discipleship.

  924. They stay long. They taught. They disciple. They

  925. move. Trouble came. They allow the trouble return.

  926. They move back. They strengthen those people

  927. they have in the south. And now they appoint

  928. elders. You see, in those parts, understand that

  929. they did signs and wonders through their hands.

  930. Remember? This one, they put hands in every,

  931. what do you call it? All those people who are

  932. sick, all believers who are sick, and the people

  933. who are sick, they lay hands on them and heal

  934. them. Many miracles using laying of hands. But

  935. this time around, it's a special one in the son.

  936. What did they do? So when they had, verse 23,

  937. had appointed elders in every church and prayed

  938. with fasting, they commended them to the Lord

  939. in whom they had believed. Do you see that? They

  940. are appointed. What do you say is appointed?

  941. You know, appointed? It's not, listen, appointed

  942. means separate. It's not just, you say, you,

  943. from today, you are the chief usher. You, from

  944. today, you are the elder in charge of this. No,

  945. that's not what we're talking about. You understand?

  946. That's separate. Appointed means to set apart.

  947. You understand? They appointed Ella. They set

  948. apart men who are matured to lead. And as usual,

  949. of course, they lay hands on them. Are we together?

  950. Amen. So you could see a pattern. You could see

  951. a pattern. Just the same way. But look, as we

  952. saw the same thing. In Acts chapter 8, where

    Acts 8 chapter mention

  953. we have already read, for example, they lay hands

  954. on all believers to receive the Holy Ghost. Because

  955. after they are preached to them, Peter and John

  956. came, they lay hands on all of them and they

  957. received the Holy Ghost. However, you can lay

  958. hands on all people and put them, you can't do

  959. that to everyone into special offices in the

  960. church. Did you get what I'm trying to say? I'm

  961. trying to make a distinction between ordination

  962. into special offices, into leadership position

  963. in the church. and just to administer the things

  964. of the spirit, the healings, and that you can

  965. do that. But when it comes to, you don't just

  966. go there, you see anybody, this one is a believer.

  967. He looks broad -chested, look good. Come here.

  968. You are a bishop now. This is the rascality we

  969. are seeing today. That's why we are having confusion.

  970. Did you understand what I'm saying? I used to

  971. think he's only bishop. Now he's archbishop.

  972. Probably to start archapostle. I don't understand.

  973. Some names are now increasing. We used to, we

  974. used to castigate Catholic church, but now we

  975. are doing worse. No one is a most reverend, holy,

  976. his holiness, his this, his that. Now we are

  977. doing most reverend in, I don't even know some

  978. of these. You see long, long names now. I heard

  979. a story of one of our pastors in the sun. They

  980. say, ah, pastor, you are here. I say, no, don't

  981. call me pastor. I'm a reverend. Oh my God. Amen.

  982. You know. So you have to be cautious. Now look

  983. at what Paul told Timothy. You understand? That's

  984. why I want you to understand that. 1 Timothy

  985. 5. 22, 1 Timothy 5, 22. Oh, if you are sleeping,

  986. please pay attention to this. Look at it. 1 Timothy

  987. 5, 22. He said, do not lay hands on anyone hastily.

  988. On anyone hastily. No share in other people's

  989. sin. Keep yourself what? Pure. Keep yourself

  990. pure. Is Paul contradicting all he has been writing?

  991. No. No. So what is Paul saying? What exactly

  992. is he saying? Why is he saying that you should

  993. not be in a haste to lay hands? What is Paul

  994. referring to? Now I want you to just. Listen

  995. and look at the context. Look at verse 17. Let

  996. the elders who rule well be counted worthy of

  997. double honor, especially those who labor in what?

  998. In what and doctrine. Because when you say elders

  999. who rule well, that means there is some confusion

  1000. in that place. There are some ones who there

  1001. is some... believers around, you understand,

  1002. that they are not doing what is supposed to.

  1003. Did you get what I'm trying to say? For the scripture

  1004. says, you shall not muzzle an ox while it treads

  1005. out the corn. And the laborer is worthy of his

  1006. wages. Do not receive an accusation against an

  1007. elder except from two or three witnesses. So

  1008. there's something there. Are we together? Verse

  1009. 20, those who are sinning, rebuke them. Rebuke

  1010. in the presence of all that the rest may, that

  1011. the rest also may fear. I charge you before God

  1012. and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels

  1013. that you observe, that you observe these things

  1014. without prejudice. Doing nothing with what? That

  1015. is when he now said, do not lay hands on anyone

  1016. asleep. Now that anyone would not mean every

  1017. believer there. No, he was talking, the context

  1018. is about elders. Did you understand what I'm

  1019. saying? The context is about what? Elders. So

  1020. when he was talking, give me NLT. I think NLT

  1021. clearly stated it. So when he said, this is why

  1022. I told you, appointment means laying of hands.

  1023. Look at what NLT says. Never be in a hurry to

  1024. do what? Oh, are we together? To appoint a church

  1025. leader. What is appointing? Are we together?

  1026. So as we said, you know, in our days, when they

  1027. say they appointed him, he's at the point. Hey,

  1028. you receive a letter. You are going to occupy

  1029. that position. No, that's not what we're talking

  1030. about. Appointing means to lay hands on someone

  1031. because it's a system of empowerment. The reason

  1032. is because you don't, when it comes to leadership,

  1033. special offices, you don't hastily lay hands

  1034. on people. You have to be discreet so that you

  1035. will not go and carry somebody that will be confusing

  1036. the whole place. That is the point I'm trying

  1037. to make. So it is to be noted. That in all where

  1038. we saw people put in position of ministry, hands

  1039. were laid. Hands were laid on them. Are we together?

  1040. No oil was seen. No oil. You've never seen. All

  1041. the ones, it's only hands that were laid. It's

  1042. not a mistake. We never saw use of oil. But why

  1043. is it that today, there's a lot used? You see

  1044. that when people are about to be ordained, they

  1045. carry a jar of oil, put on them. We use oil in

  1046. so many of our churches to consecrate, to set

  1047. apart people for the work of ministry. But what

  1048. we have understood from all the texts and scriptures,

  1049. God's system is what? To lay hands, not to pour

  1050. oil. The question is, how did we get here? Does

  1051. anointing a believer with oil have any spiritual

  1052. value? Remember, we've already noted through

  1053. text that what? That the laying of hands is spiritual,

  1054. is supernatural. Is that okay? Is that okay?

  1055. Now the question is, is using oil spiritual,

  1056. supernatural? Does he have any spiritual value?

  1057. Some people will cite James. Look at James. Go

  1058. to James. James chapter 4, verse 14. James 4,

    James 4:14

  1059. 14. Sorry, it's 5. James 5, 14. Is anyone among

  1060. you sick? Let him call for the elders of the

  1061. church and let them pray over him, anointing

  1062. him with oil in the name of the Lord. Now, throughout

  1063. the text of what we call the New Testament, This

  1064. is the only place that mentions the use of oil.

  1065. Now, you see, when you see a place very unique,

  1066. a vast, that is very unique from the nomad, you

  1067. need to take time to study. Are we together?

  1068. You need to take time to do what? To study. And

  1069. let me mention something very profound. There

  1070. is a standard. You see, when we say doctrine,

  1071. we mean, remember what we said, right? Instruction,

  1072. a set of instructions. It's not separate. Now,

  1073. a verse cannot become a doctrine. Let me say

  1074. it again. Let me say it again. You don't establish

  1075. a doctrine with a verse. Did you understand what

  1076. I'm saying? Yeah? No. So all the problems. that

  1077. we are having with trousers, with head tie. Do

  1078. you know what I'm saying? In the name of the

  1079. Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All of

  1080. them came from one verse. When you sat, you see

  1081. one verse. Yet we have made it a special thing

  1082. in the church. That's why I say, each time you

  1083. hear a verse mention something and nowhere again,

  1084. be careful. Sit down and read. Did you understand

  1085. what I'm saying? Sit down and read. There are

  1086. many verses about indecency. Did you get what

  1087. I'm trying to say? We are coming, you know, we

  1088. are doing, we have a long way to go. Issues around

  1089. women's liberty. We are at what? I think we are

  1090. up at part 19. Okay, we are still moving. Amen?

  1091. So, but what I'm trying to say is that be careful,

  1092. else you are going to a slippery place. Now,

  1093. one of it is this one. Hallelujah. Now, he said,

  1094. and it is very important. Now, what does it mean

  1095. to anoint? It means to anoint. Just simply to

  1096. rob. Just to rob something. When you anoint someone.

  1097. To just rob. Is that okay? That's what it means.

  1098. The verb. When you say anoint. It means to rob.

  1099. To rob. And that is important for us to understand

  1100. that. Now, that word anoint means a life form.

  1101. A -L -E. Hallelujah. Be patient. We'll soon be

  1102. moving for this session. But come with me. I

  1103. want you to pay attention because this is very

  1104. important. If you are sleeping, Make your system

  1105. awake because there's an explanation I have to

  1106. go into this one. Even if we don't finish it,

  1107. we can continue in the next session. Amen? It's

  1108. A -L -E -I. Can you tell that young man I will

  1109. give him... We love them. Amen? So anoint is

  1110. L -I -4, means A -L -E -I -P -H -O. A -L -E -I

  1111. -P -H -O in Greek. Just like I said, means to

  1112. anoint or anoint means to rob, means to rob.

  1113. Come with me quickly. Let me see what I can do

  1114. for the time I have now. Matthew 16. Matthew

  1115. 6. Go to 6. Matthew 6. Matthew 6. Let me read

  1116. verse 16. Moreover, when you fast, do not be

  1117. like the hypocrite with a sad countenance. For

  1118. they disfigured their faces that they may appear

  1119. to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you,

  1120. they have their reward. But you, when you fast,

  1121. anoint your head and wash your face. Are we together?

  1122. That word anoint there is a life form. Means

  1123. to rub, of course, invariably with oil, understand?

  1124. And wash so that you don't appear like a hypocrite.

  1125. Mark 6. Mark 6, 13. Mark 6, 13. And they cast

  1126. out demons. And they cast out many demons and

  1127. anointed with oil many who were sick. And heal

  1128. them. Please follow me. Because I'm coming. The

  1129. question is that. These are the disciples. Did

  1130. Jesus ask them to anoint? There's a question.

  1131. One side. Go to Mark 16. Verse 1. Now when the

  1132. Sabbath was passed. Mary Magdalene. Mary the

  1133. mother of James. And Salome bought spices that

  1134. they might come and anoint him. Luke 17, 38.

  1135. Luke 17, 38. Sorry, did I say seven? No, seven?

  1136. Come in, let me check that text. Luke 7, 38.

  1137. Put it there for me. Let me go myself. Yes, and

  1138. stood at his feet behind him, weeping, and she

  1139. began to wash his feet with her tears and wiped

  1140. them with the hair of her head. Thank you, sir.

  1141. And she kissed. Are we together? John 11, 2.

  1142. John 11, 2. It was that Mary who anointed the

  1143. Lord with fragrance. with the fragrant oil and

  1144. wipe his feet with her. Right? His feet with

  1145. her hair, whose brother Lazarus was six. Anoint

  1146. there. Anoint. Move to 12. 12 verse 3. Then Mary

  1147. took a pound of very costly oil of spiked nut,

  1148. anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet

  1149. with her hair and the house was filled with the

  1150. fragrance. of oil. Now, Freddie, we read James.

  1151. So why did James ask the elders of the church

  1152. to use oil? So we saw that James asked the elders

  1153. to use oil. Why? And that's unique because James

  1154. did that. Are we together? Why? Now, if you look

  1155. at it, go to James chapter 1. Because that will

    James 1 chapter mention

  1156. help us understand the background of the book

  1157. to help us to know what exactly James or who

  1158. James was communicating to. James 1. James, a

  1159. born servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ,

  1160. to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad,

  1161. greetings. So that means the audience of James

  1162. are Jews. Are we together? Even though they are

  1163. believers, they are what? Jews. So it wasn't

  1164. strange to them. He wasn't writing to Gentiles.

  1165. Remember, I told you already, the use of oil

  1166. already stemmed from Jacob. Are we together?

  1167. So already is a cultural thing. So it wasn't

  1168. strange. So when you ask them, use oil, it wasn't

  1169. strange. The Jews are known to use oil for medicinal

  1170. purposes. They use it for different things. We

  1171. have just read a number of things how they use

  1172. oil. To anoint Jesus, to do this, to do that,

  1173. to do that. Many things. Are we together? So

  1174. they understood what James was talking about.

  1175. So James was asking the elders to combine natural

  1176. and spiritual. It wasn't a conflict with them.

  1177. You understand what I'm saying? When they use

  1178. oil, they are not saying that they don't believe

  1179. in the supernatural. It was just common that

  1180. when you use that in the sun. It's like when

  1181. somebody prayed for you, you say, just go and

  1182. take your bath. Are you saying that you don't

  1183. believe in what he's saying? You know what I'm

  1184. trying to say? So it's a norm for them. It's

  1185. a norm for them. So this was what... But the

  1186. question is that we need to investigate more

  1187. further. And we saw the disciples did that. Are

  1188. we together? From where we read. But... Jesus

  1189. never asked the disciples to anoint. Let's go

  1190. back to that place. Mark 6. Mark chapter 6. Look

    Mark 6 chapter mention

  1191. at verse 7. Mark 6. Verse 7. And he called the

  1192. twelve to himself and began to send them out

  1193. two by two. and gave them power over unclean

  1194. spirits. He commanded them to take nothing for

  1195. their journey except staff, no bag, no bread,

  1196. no copper in their money belts, but to wear sandals

  1197. and not to put on two tonics. Also, he said to

  1198. them, in whatever place you enter a house, stay

  1199. there till you depart from that place. Whoever

  1200. will not receive you nor hear you when you depart

  1201. from there, shake off the dust under your feet

  1202. as a testimony against them. Actually, I say

  1203. to you, it will be more terrible for Sodom and

  1204. Gomorrah in the day of judgment than that city.

  1205. Verse 12, so they went out and preached that

  1206. people should repent. They cast out many demons.

  1207. You see, when Jesus asked them, he went them

  1208. to preach, gave them power over unclean spirits.

  1209. So to preach. So what he asked them was to heal

  1210. the sick. Go back to Luke. Luke tells us that.

  1211. Let's read Luke account quickly. Luke 9. Luke

  1212. 9. Then, verse 1, then he called his 12 disciples.

  1213. and gave them power and authority over all demons

  1214. and to cure what? Diseases. He sent them to preach.

  1215. Look at verse two. He sent them to do what? To

  1216. preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

  1217. And he said to them, take nothing for the journey,

  1218. neither staff, neither back. What we just read,

  1219. Max was saying. Are we together? And then verse

  1220. six, look at six. So they departed. and went

  1221. through the towns preaching the gospel and healing

  1222. everyone. Jesus himself never used oil. He would

  1223. spat, he would touch. We read all Jesus did,

  1224. you understand, in his healing. So he gave them

  1225. power to do that. You understand? Peter showed

  1226. to us what Jesus was doing, how he was separated,

  1227. how he was appointed. In Acts chapter 10, verse

    Acts 10:38

  1228. 38, how Jesus Christ was anointed with the Holy

  1229. Ghost and power and where they are doing good,

  1230. you understand? Healing all those that were oppressed

  1231. by the devil. Are we together? So you could see

  1232. that he told them, no, no, no, no, this is what

  1233. you should do. When you go to 10, also Matthew

    Matthew 10:1–4

  1234. chapter 10, verse 1 to 4. Matthew 10. I need

  1235. to read that text. Matthew 10. We now round up

  1236. there. And when he had called his 12 disciples

  1237. to him, he gave them power over unclean spirit

  1238. to cast out and to heal. You see that? To cast

  1239. out and to heal all kinds of sicknesses and all

  1240. kinds of diseases. You see? Even when he sent

  1241. them, he told them not to carry things. He even

  1242. told them, don't carry anything. So I don't know

  1243. how they smuggle bottles. He has instructed them,

  1244. don't carry anything, just move. Anywhere you

  1245. stop, enter. But you see the people, their culture,

  1246. they smuggle something. And we saw in Acts 13,

  1247. they say after they are healed, they have healed

  1248. them. Look at it, go back to Acts 13. Mark 6,

  1249. 13. He said, and they cast out many demons. How

  1250. did they do? They cast out many demons and anointed

  1251. with oil many who were sick and healed them.

  1252. So even though they did the healing, they did

  1253. the casting of demons, they still used oil to

  1254. just anoint these people. Remember, they didn't

  1255. anoint the people who had demons. The only cast

  1256. is people who are sick. Remember I told you,

  1257. it's a cultural thing in the Jews, you understand?

  1258. Because the oil has medicinal purpose, you understand

  1259. what I'm saying? So they do that. Of course,

  1260. they have other purposes. They do with it, you

  1261. understand, just like we have read. But what

  1262. can we see here? The oil is not supernatural.

  1263. Let me repeat again. Oil is not what? It's not

  1264. supernatural. From all this reading we have read,

  1265. oil was not supernatural. From Jacob, we saw

  1266. it as a symbol of honor first, like to anoint

  1267. the place. And you put it there. It's a showing

  1268. of that this is a sacred place. It's an indication.

  1269. Because remember where they were coming from.

  1270. Just the same way Abraham. When Abraham gave

  1271. tithes, You understand? We can learn something

  1272. about the titan. You understand what I'm saying?

  1273. Because Abraham, he was coming from a pagan place.

  1274. There is a system they are used to. And in their

  1275. system, they know honor. So when they meet somebody

  1276. who is of authority, you understand? They give

  1277. him something. They give him a titan as a sign

  1278. of honor. When Abraham was doing that, he was

  1279. not expecting to receive anything. It's an honor

  1280. you do to an elder. In our people, where I came

  1281. from, you can't see an elder, even if it's not

  1282. from your family, you can't see an elder living

  1283. with his load. Although these days, I don't understand

  1284. what we're doing. You see some people, like when

  1285. I'm in school, when I, in those days, I use the

  1286. bus. You see an elderly person shaking in the

  1287. bus and younger people are sitting down. Something's

  1288. wrong with us. No, we have learned. This is not

  1289. Bible. This is culture. Do you understand what

  1290. I'm saying? Yes, your culture can tally with

  1291. the honor in scriptures, but there are things

  1292. we come into. It is part of where we are raised.

  1293. You can't be passing and there's a road, a tiny

  1294. road, and you and an elder is coming and then

  1295. you are struggling who to give space. No, we

  1296. are. How now? It's our culture that you shift

  1297. first and you greet. Welcome, sir. And you prostrate.

  1298. And we have that in Yorubas in the Sunday. We

  1299. even lie down in the sun. This is a way of showing

  1300. honor. It's a cultural thing. That's the same

  1301. thing with them. So it wasn't supernatural. It's

  1302. lying down supernatural. No. It's culture. So

  1303. there's no way Jesus asked these apostles to

  1304. use oil for ordination. No. Ordination is by

  1305. laying of hands. Although we have churches that

  1306. have adopted from the Old Testament, they use

  1307. the Old Testament text. Like for example, Samuel,

  1308. when he was going to consecrate David and all

  1309. that, he carried a jar of oil and was moving.

  1310. But now you are in the New Testament. Understand

  1311. how systems work. See, if you are not careful,

  1312. you will be practicing the Jewish culture, thinking

  1313. that it is actually Bible. You must know how

  1314. to sift between cultural things. I told you.

  1315. That God accommodated men's limitations and cultures

  1316. used their language to communicate his purpose.

  1317. So you must be able to see which one is the culture.

  1318. It's just like you can come, you can come by

  1319. and that's why I said I thank God for Jesus.

  1320. That's the same thing what we are seeing today

  1321. with many other things. Like the issue that you

  1322. cannot permit a woman to lead a church. Or you

  1323. can't permit world where we have been leading.

  1324. You understand? Did you see any name of a man

  1325. or a man? They say they are called disciples.

  1326. They are called believers. He said, these saints

  1327. are followed in their belief. Did he say a man?

  1328. No. So that's the same thing. But if you're going

  1329. to follow the culture of the Jews, no, you can't

  1330. bring a woman inside. In fact, some of you, if

  1331. you are going to use it, some of you that are

  1332. having menstrual period, we will send you away.

  1333. For two weeks, you will not come and miss us.

  1334. So, You have to see which one. So oil has no

  1335. spiritual value. It's not a spiritual thing.

  1336. Are we together? Oil has nothing. So as we go

  1337. for a break, know that the way to ordain, to

  1338. appoint, is by the laying of hands. Are we together?

  1339. Is by the what? Laying of hands. Are we together?

  1340. Yes. Can you use oil? Yes. But use it. with an

  1341. understanding, like aprons. Do you understand

  1342. what I'm saying? We have red aprons, touch their

  1343. body, and when they heal the people. If you are

  1344. doing it in that understanding, it's a different

  1345. thing. Amen. Can you just pray and thank the

  1346. Lord? We appreciate you being here today. We

  1347. hope you carry this word with you throughout

  1348. your week. Don't forget to check the show notes

  1349. for additional insights. Stay connected with

  1350. us through our website or follow us on social

  1351. media. If you are encouraged, share this message

  1352. with someone you care about. Until next time,

  1353. stay blessed.