The Foundation Part 2

 

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Wherever two or three are gathered together in My name, Jesus said, there am I in the midst of them. To those of you who love Him in truth: mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. (Jude 1:2 )

Today we are continuing to talk about The Foundation. I would like you to turn with me to Matthew chapter 7, verses 24-27, Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall. 

Let's turn to Hebrews chapter 6, verses 1&2, Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. I want you to notice here in verse 1: Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, that's what we are talking about when we talk about the foundation: it's being established in the principles of the doctrine of Christ. We need to be firmly established as Christians in the truth that Jesus taught. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

Doing the Words of Jesus is like building your house on a rock. We must be established in the whole, true foundation as described in Heb 6:1&2 in order to be able to do the Words of Jesus, to do the Sermon on the Mount. When the foundation is built on the rock; established on the rock, then the building will be able to withstand the storm that is coming. And the storm is surely coming. Not many people build houses upon the sand now a days. Everybody knows that the house will fall if it's built on the sand. So what they do is, they build it on some kind of a concrete foundation. There are different types of foundations that can be built, but the only ones that really stand the test of time, and the movement of the Earth, and the storms that come; the only ones that really stand are the ones that are founded upon the rock. What they do for a really good foundation is they drill piers all the way down to bedrock; it may be only a few feet, or it may be as much as 15 or 20 feet deep; they drill a pier and it's founded on the rock. And they pour concrete, reinforced with steel. And they pour a certain number of piers in certain locations, and the foundation is built on those piers which are established on the bedrock. That way you have a solid foundation, and you can build whatever building has been designed for that foundation. 

But many houses are built on inadequate foundations. They may only pour a concrete slab without piers. In order to cut costs on building a house, many people compromise the foundation, and they build a lesser quality foundation. The result is that they always end up having problems with the house. There is settling; there is cracking; there are all kinds of problems that happen with an inadequate foundation. However, this foundation that we are talking about is a very costly foundation. It was purchased with the precious Blood of the Lamb of God. It was purchased and established through His sacrifice on the cross. The lamb of God, the Son of God became a man; Jesus became a man, and He lived as a man, and He was tempted in every way as we are, yet He never sinned, and He offered Himself a living sacrifice for our sins to establish us in His righteousness, through His grace. And He rose from the dead on the third day to bring us into eternal life with Him; to overcome all the powers of darkness, all sin and unrighteousness, and to live with Him forever in His glory. This is a precious, costly foundation, founded on the Rock. So, as a Christian, we must be established in all that the Lord has built for us.

Last week we talked about Repentance from Dead Works, Faith toward God, and the Doctrine of Baptisms. Today we are going to talk about the fourth part of The Foundation, in Hebrews chapter 6, The Laying on of Hands. Let's turn to Acts 9:10-12, Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." So the Lord said to him, "Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.   And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight." And, as we read on, Ananias obeyed the Lord, in verse 17&18,  And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. In Acts 9, Ananias ministered healing and the Holy Spirit to Saul, as he was sent by Jesus to do so, through the laying on of hands. 

Let's turn to Acts 13:2-4, As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. We see here that the Holy Spirit is sending out Barnabas and Saul for the work that He had called them to do. The disciples fasted and prayed and then they laid their hands on them and they sent them away. So they were sent out through the disciples, by the Holy Spirit.  The laying on of hands has to do with commissioning disciples for the work that the Lord has called them to. They prayed, they fasted, and then they laid hands on them and they sent them out by the Holy Spirit. When a man is sent by the Lord he has authority to do whatever He sent him to do. The laying on of hands in Acts 13 was to send out Saul and Barnabas, giving them authority by the Holy Spirit to accomplish the work He was sending them to do.

Let's go to Acts 6. This is talking about when the Apostles appointed deacons: verses 1-6; Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.   Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables.  Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word." And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. This was the appointing, or commissioning of the deacons, including Stephen and Phillip, by the Apostles. It was done through prayer, and then the laying on of hands.

In Acts chapter 8, let's go there; this is talking about when Phillip went down to Samaria and preached the Gospel, with many signs and wonders, and many people were saved. Verse 12, But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. Verses 14-17, Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. So we see here a pattern: they prayed for them first, and then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. So here we have a second purpose for the laying on of hands, which is the giving of the Holy Spirit. 

And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism." Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. So again we see Paul laying hands on the new disciples, and the Holy Spirit was given.

Another purpose for the laying on of hands is to minister healing, as we see in Acts 28: In Acts 28 Paul and those that were with him experienced a shipwreck and they landed on an island call Melita. Verses 7-10,  In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days.   And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed. They also honored us in many ways; and when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary. So here we see the same pattern: Paul entered in, he prayed for the man, and then he laid his hands on him and he was healed. 

Luke 13:10-13, Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. So we see Jesus ministering healing through the laying on of hands. Luke 4:40&41, When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!" And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ. Jesus was sent by the Father, and He was obeying the Father. Remember He said, “I only do what I see my Father doing, and I only say what I hear my Father saying.” He was a man under authority. 

We also see in Mark 16:15-18, in Jesus' commission to the disciples, And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." 

The purpose for the laying on of hands, to conclude, is for healing, for the baptism in the Holy Spirit, for commissioning and sending out. Most of the time they prayed and then they laid hands. They did not lay hands and pray at the same time, as we usually do in the contemporary church. Also it is done only through the authority of God, the command of Jesus, by the Holy Spirit; the will of the Father at the direction of the Lord, not when we feel like laying hands on someone and praying for them, or when someone asks us to do so. Things happened because it was by the direction and authority of God. He initiated it. People believed, and prayed, and obeyed, and laid hands, and God moved. First, a man must be sent by God, doing the will of God, led by the Holy Spirit to pray and lay hands, and then, because we are in His authority and obedience and faith and love, it will happen. By the way; just a reminder: all of this works through love. Jesus said, If you love me, keep my Words; if you love me, you will do my Words, you will do my will. So, as we love the Lord, we are seeking to follow Him. We don't have an agenda to be going around laying hands on people. We don't have an agenda to see people healed. Our purpose is to serve the Lord because we love Him and He directs our lives.

Thank you for reading this message from 15 Minutes With Jesus at roberthaymes.com .May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you who love Him in truth, Amen. (2 Cor 13:14)