Impartation

Hebrews 6:1-2 identifies some of the elementary or basic teachings. Paul lists 6 of them: 1) the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, 2) faith that leads to God, 3) instructions about baptisms, 4) the laying on of hands (or impartation through the laying on of hands), 5) the resurrection of the dead, and 6) eternal judgment.

And this teaching series is primarily about number four in this list, impartation and the laying on of hands. The first three lessons were to establish a foundation, to show how God still imparts into our lives today, almost 2000 years after Jesus walked on this earth. Then lesson 4 talked about baptisms (number 3 in Paul's list) as more foundation to help us better understand number 4. Paul said that instruction in baptisms (plural) was a basic. He was not just talking about water baptism, he was also referring to the baptism of the Spirit. And some of the things that the believers back then saw as basics, things that were readily understood, are not as well understood today. For instance many denominations only recognize one way to be filled (or baptized) with the Spirit. So I needed to lay some groundwork and show that there were two ways, not one, back in the time when Paul wrote Hebrews.

What are those two ways? One is through prayer, where you seek God and the Holy Spirit comes upon you. That is how the original disciples received it in Acts 2. The second is through the laying on of hands, which is how Paul received it from Ananias in Acts 9:17.

The reason I taught lesson 4 was because I don't want you to say that the laying on of hands is the only way you can get the Holy Spirit. I am not saying that, but I am saying this that it is Biblical to receive Him that way. It is one of the two ways.

So if God chooses to touch you powerfully when you read this lesson and the Holy Spirit coming upon you, just take it. Receive it. If He chooses not to, don't feel like you are a second class Christian. You are welcome to come to one of my meetings where I preach on impartation and have me lay hands on you during the ministry time. God uses me strongly in that area, impartation through the laying on of hands. It is one of the primary calls on my life.

In my experience in the past, people would say in my church, "I want to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit." Most of them had been influenced with a more Pentecostal view and what they meant was, "I want to speak in tongues." Please be aware that those two are not necessarily the same thing. I received the gift of speaking in tongues in 1971. But I didn't receive a powerful baptism until 1984. My wife received the powerful baptism first and then it was weeks later before she ever speak in tongues. And I believe that people who never speak in tongues need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. That is why I am not a classical Pentecostal in doctrine.

But I am very Pentecostal in regard to experience. I'm just not doctrinally quite there yet. But I would rather wrong doctrinally and have the experience, than to be right doctrinally and not never have the experience.

This is as old as the Bible. The New Testament concept of impartation actually is as old as the Old Testament. We are going to lay a Biblical foundation on which this is going to rest, so that your faith may not rest on the anecdotal stories of Randy Clark. Your faith will rest on Scripture, and my anecdotal stories are just illustrations that what the Bible teaches was happening then is still happening now. The only purpose of these anecdotal stories, the only reason why I am telling you these stories, is because what He did then He never stopped doing now. He is still doing it today.

How can you know it is God and not the devil? The Bible says in the last days their will be lying signs and wonders tongues if it were possible, that will lead away the elect (Matthew 20:4).The lying signs and wonders are trying to get you to quit worshipping Jesus. If you study it in the book of Revelation, that the whole purpose of demonic signs and wonders is to stop the people of God from worshipping the Lamb that is upon the throne. So if the sign and wonder points to Jesus and gets people to passionately worship Jesus, then it does not fall in line with the purpose of the lying signs and wonders that the devil would do. That is how you can tell when it is really God. The devil would never try to get believers more passionate about loving and obeying and serving Jesus.

OK, let's dive into Scripture. I have two Old Testament references. The first is Numbers 11:17 "God said to Moses to gather the elders together in a meeting and I will come down and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them and they will help you carry the burden of the people." That is the first reference in the Bible where you have the understanding of not laying on of hands but transference of the anointing, of an anointing that was on one person, God took that anointing He put on one person and put a similar anointing upon a group of people. God orchestrated it. God said, "I want you to do this Moses and I God will come down and I God will take of the Spirit that is on you and I God will do this." So I want you to know that Randy Clark can do nothing in terms of impartation, but God can do wonderful things in our midst.

Deuteronomy 34:9 gives us the first reference of laying on of hands. It says Joshua the son of Nun received the Spirit of Wisdom because Moses laid his hands upon him.

Now look at 2 Kings 2:9 for another transference of anointing. Elijah said to Elisha, "What would you have me to do to you before I am taking up?" And Elisha said, "I want a double portion of the Spirit that's on you." And Elijah said, "You ask a very difficult thing, but if you are with me when I'm taken up it will be given to you." And it happened and as Elijah is taken up, Elisha says, "My father, my father!" And the mantle came down and Elisha picked it up. He hit the river and the river parted, He got it, he got the impartation of Elijah's anointing.

So these impartations, these anointings, these concepts of being able to receive something from someone else are the Old Testament. It's also in the New Testament.

In 1 Timothy 4:14, Paul said, "Do not resist the gift you received through the prophetic utterance when the body of elders laid their hands upon you." That is probably referring to Timothy's ordination. I believe that this ordination was (and really should be) a very powerful time. It should be a time when there are prophetic words declared over peoples lives.