“That’s Handy!.”
Acts 2 and Acts 10

Good morning. This sermon is one of a group of sermons to help us look at and understand the scriptures and what is happening in the religious world around us. Some of the earlier sermons I gave in this series were called “Music is instrumental in my worship” and Miracles for sale”. I’d like to begin with a story. There were two psychiatrists, one of them was old and the other one was young, and both of them showed up each day for work immaculately dressed and alert. At the end of the day, the young doctor always looked frazzled and scruffy while the older man always seemed to be as fresh as ever. This intrigued the younger psychiatrist so one day he asked: ‘How do you do it?’ ‘You always stay so fresh after hearing patients all day.’ The older doctor replied, ‘well it’s quite simple actually, I just never listen to my patients.’

INTRO:
Now I’m not trying to say anything about psychiatrists so don’t anyone be offended. The point of the story is that listening has an effect. Actually listening, has an effect on us. When we read and study the word of God, we need to listen to what God is saying to us through His word. And we should never tire of doing that. What I want to talk about today is Holy Spirit baptism and in particular the laying on of hands. We understand Holy Spirit baptism was a supernatural event which took place during the 1st century for mainly one reason; To prepare the apostles for their apostolic roles, not their roles as Christians. We also understand that what happened in Acts 10 to Cornelius’ household was to provide a divine demonstration to the Jews, to show them that the Gentiles could become Christians.

I. Laying on of hands. We’re going to look at the laying on of hands today and see if we can understand why these gifts of prophecy, tongue speaking, and miraculous healing don’t happen anymore. We cannot ignore the Bible’s accounts of these events. We know that the miraculous took place, we know that people spoke in tongues, which was a known language because others understood in their own language, we know that people had supernatural knowledge and had the gift of prophecy.
a. We cannot ignore the fact the apostles received the power of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 and that in Acts 10, Cornelius and his household received the Holy Spirit and they were given the gift of tongues. Knowing that, the question needs to be asked, “how did other people receive these supernatural gifts in the New Testament?”
b. If other Christians did not receive the Holy Spirit like the apostles did and if they did not receive the Holy Spirit like Cornelius’ household did, how were other Christians able to work miracles, prophecy, speak in tongues, and do healing? As you know the best way to understand the Bible on any subject is to let the Bible speak for itself. That’s the best commentary you can have for the bible.
i. As we study this I believe you are going to see that other people in the New Testament were able to speak in tongues, prophecy and have supernatural knowledge, but, the only way they could receive that miraculous capability was through ‘the laying on of the apostle’s hands.’ A man named Elbert Hubbard once said, ‘Every man is a fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists of not exceeding the limit.’ If you know any folks who exceed the limit please keep it to yourself or we might be here all day.
ii. That’s where I want to begin our understanding of the laying on of the apostle’s hands with a fool, a man named Simon. In Acts 8 after Saul had been persecuting the church, the church was scattered everywhere. Philip ended up in a city in Samaria where he was preaching the Gospel and performing many miracles. There was a man named Simon there who was also a sorcerer and he was so impressed with Philip’s gifts that he wanted that gift too.
We pick up the story in Acts 8:14-21 - where we are told (and by the way I will be paraphrasing some of the scripture this morning.) “When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.” [NIV]
iii. Simon, in his human wisdom thought to himself, ‘that’s handy’ and he wanted this gift so much he was even willing to pay money for it.
c. When we look at the text, we see it clearly tells us that the apostles Peter and John laid their hands on them. The text also clearly tells us that Simon saw how the gift was given, through the apostles laying on their hands. Simon says in verse 19 “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” There’s no arguing with Scripture here about how the Christians in Samaria received the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit.
d. Now you might say, “wait a minute, how did Philip get this gift?” That is a good question. Let’s look. We find the text confirms that Philip had the ability to perform miraculous signs in Acts 8:6 - “When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said.” A bit further down in Acts 8:13 – we see: “Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.” [NIV]
i. So Philip had the gift, how then did he receive this gift? His gift was given to him by, guess who? The apostles. Philip got the gift through the laying on of the apostle’s hands. Turn your Bibles back a couple of chapters to Acts 6, in Acts 6 we find a group of people called the Grecian (or Hellenistic) Jews and another group of people called the Hebraic Jews. Now the Grecian Jews were complaining against the Hebraic Jews about some widows being neglected. We find the apostles solution in Acts 6:3-4 – ”Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
ii. In Acts 6:5-6 - “This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles (to who? To the apostles), who prayed and laid their hands on them.” [NIV] So we understand that Philip got this gift by the laying on of the apostle’s hands. It tells us quite clearly.
e. Let’s look at another example. We know that some in the church in Ephesus were able to speak in tongues and they were able prophecy but again the Christians in Ephesus were able to speak in tongues because they received the capability to do so from who? From the apostles.
i. How do we know? Look in Acts 19:1-6 - “While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John's baptism,” they replied. Paul said, “John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. “When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.” [NIV]
ii. What does it say? Paul, the apostle, placed his hands on them and then they received the miraculous gifts of tongue speaking and prophecy. Now when it comes to the laying on of hands, there is something else we need to remember. Sometimes people lay their hands on other people as a sign, a sign of passing on of authority or as a sign of approval.
f. Keeping that in mind let’s look at our next example who is Timothy. 2 Timothy 1:6 - “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” [NIV] Now again we need to ask, who laid their hands on Timothy? Well, whenever you begin to read any letter you receive from someone, you always find out who wrote it in the first place. Go back to 2 Timothy 1:1-2 – and here we read: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, (to who?)To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” [NIV] That person who laid their hands on Timothy was the apostle Paul.
II. Today: Some try to convince us that these gifts are still here with us today, but looking at the word Paul uses there, he uses the word ‘through’ or ‘by means of’. Lets look at 1 Timothy 4:14 – The King James Version says this, “Neglect not the gift that is in thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.” That word ‘presbytery’ is another word for eldership or seniorship. Notice the word Paul uses here. He uses the word, ‘with’ but he uses the word ‘with’ in the sense of signifying attending circumstances or accompaniment. In other words Paul is telling us that he, as an apostle imparted the miraculous gift to Timothy (2 Timothy) anf at the same time, the eldership laid their hands on Timothy ‘with’ Paul, to indicate their simultaneous support and accompanying commendation. We need to understand what is going on within a passage of text before we can make a leap and say, ‘See that passage tells us very clearly that the miraculous stills happens today.’
a. That’s why I said that we need to be careful and we need to understand that there are times in scripture when other people laid their hands on someone. The apostles laid their hands on people to pass on the miraculous gifts but other people laid their hands on people as a sign of approval, in the case of Timothy it was both at the same time.
b. Now when you study these subjects within the Scriptures you will soon find that no one else was able to pass these gifts on to someone. In other words if an apostle laid his hands on you and bestowed miraculous gifts upon you, you couldn’t then go on and pass those gifts on to someone else. There is not one single example of that happening anywhere in the Bible.
c. Thinking about it, if others were able to pass on the gifts after the apostles laid their hands on them, why didn’t Philip, who we looked at earlier, just give Simon the gift? Philip didn’t because he understood that it was only the apostles that had the ability to pass it on, no one else could do that.
d. Because of that understanding and since there are no apostles living today, there is no one to pass those gifts on. Holy Spirit baptism was unique to the apostles in Acts 2, Scripture lends no support for Holy Spirit baptism today.
e. In other words there is no divine healing like we find in the 1st century church occurring today. There is no tongue speaking, supernatural knowledge or prophesying like we find in the 1st century church taking place today. When the apostles died, the ability to pass on the gifts died with them, when the first century Christians died, their gifts died with them. No one passed them on to someone else, why? because they had served their purpose. God does things for a purpose.
III. Compare: We need to remember that access to spiritual maturity through God’s written revelation for the 1st century Christian was partial and imperfect. 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 - “Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
a. For the Christians who are living today, we have all that’s needed to be complete and we can enjoy the fullness of a Christian existence by means of the written revelation of God, the New Testament. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, why? so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
b. 2 Peter 1:3 - “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
c. When we begin to understand that His word is all that we need for this life then Ephesians 4:14-15- will come to life. It tells us that, “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”
d. Now I heard a story I’ll use here and it is one of those “certain ethnic” stories but since I heard it from a Scott I’ll tell it that way. Three men who were talking one day. One of the men, who was Russian said, ‘We were the first in space!’ Another man, who was American said, ‘We were the first on the moon!’ The third guy who was from Scotland said, ‘So what, we’re going to be the first on the sun!’ The Russian and the American looked at each other and shook their heads. The Russian said to the Scotsman, ‘you can’t land on the sun, you idiot! You’ll burn up!’ To which the Scotsman replied, ‘We’re not stupid, you know. We’re going at night!’
e. The point here is that some people think like that, they are convinced they can perform or have witnessed the miraculous. They are convinced that when they hear a voice in their heads that it is God that is speaking to them.
i. All of us have likely heard of some infamous person who upon committing murder said that he did it because God told him to.
ii. Now I know that’s an extreme case but that’s what’s going on in the religious world around us.
iii. Some believe that the Spirit tells them what to do and what to think and what to say. 1 Timothy 4:1- “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”
f. People are so desperate to experience spirituality when they don’t even understand what spirituality is, and they don’t understand where spirituality comes from. So let me ask you, where does spirituality come from? Well, spirituality comes from simple meditation and reflection upon the Word of God. In other words it’s only God’s Word that can help us become spiritual.
i. In John 6 when Jesus’ teaching was getting a bit heavy for some people, some of His followers began to leave Him and so Jesus asked the twelve in John 6:67- “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
ii. John 17:17- we read “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”
iii. Do you remember what Jesus said when Satan demanded a miracle from Him in Matthew 4:4? “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
iv. There is the key. That’s how you grow spiritually, that’s how you get to know God, that’s how you know what God wants from you. God doesn’t speak directly into your ear because He speaks directly to our hearts when we read His Word.
v. Look at Hebrews 4:12- “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Living and active.
g. I remember hearing about a person that went to one of these charismatic group meetings one evening just to see what was going on. He said that when he went in there was a man getting ready to preach a sermon but just before he was about to start someone else in the audience said that, ‘God had told him to preach that night.’ The man who was at the pulpit asked the guy in the audience, ‘When did God tell you that you were to preach tonight?’ The man said, ‘This morning.’ The speaker said, ‘Well God spoke to me at 4:00 pm, so shut up.’
i. I know that sounds crazy but people believe these things. In their struggle for spiritual importance, they are like that which was found in the church at Corinth. 1 Corinthians 3:1-2- “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.” Peter instructed in 1 Peter 2:2-, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”
ii. Instead of reading God’s Word, they rely on their own minds and consciences. Instead of craving after the pure spiritual milk, they settle for a watered down version of the truth.

Conclusion:
We need to study God’s word and do so with understanding not simply reading without thinking. If we don’t then we may be like the wise old psychiatrist in the story. At the end of the day we may look good to the world but what good will we truly have done?
We need to ask ourselves this question as well, ‘what are we going to do with the truths that we’ve learned?’ Well there are a couple things we need to do.
1. We need to continue to preach the truth boldly. Jeremiah 17:5-8 “This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
Our confidence is in the Lord, not in men, and God says, if we remember that, then we shall bear fruit. And because our confidence is in the Lord, we should also preach the truth with confidence. You see in your Bibles the word translated as ‘confidence’ sometimes is translated as the word ‘boldly’. And it’s because of preaching God’s Word boldly, that God’s Word convicts people of the message they are hearing, that’s how it was done during the first century.
Acts 4:29-31 Peter and John said, “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
When Saul of Tarsus tried to join up with the other apostles they were afraid but Barnabas told them what had happened to Saul, the Bible says in Acts 9:28 - “So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.” And again in Acts 28:30-31- “For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The next time you get a chance to do a word search in your Bible, search out the words ‘boldly, or confidence or confidently’. And just see how many times it is related to the preaching of God’s Word.

There was a man who was playing Trivial Pursuit one night and it was his turn and so he rolled the dice and he landed on ‘Science & Nature.’ His question was, ‘If you are in a vacuum and someone calls your name, can you hear it?’ He thought for a moment and then asked, ‘Is it on or off?’
Our preaching needs to be always on, on one accord with the will of God, on line with the words of Jesus and built on the confidence we receive from God Himself.
It’s a bit like those people you meet at supermarket stores who are trying to sell you something. If you were to talk to them, they will tell you that there is nothing worse than trying to convince people about something if they are not convinced themselves. We can preach the truth because we do have confidence, not about something to sell, but about something far more important, this amazing offer of salvation which God offers through His Son Jesus Christ.

2. We need to stand strong. In an ever-changing world, which constantly wants to change the will of God, we must stand strong. Please turn your Bible to Ephesians 6:10-18 as we finish. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”
People will preach all sorts of things to you and sometimes it even sounds like the truth. For instance we have all heard the story of the Passover in the Old Testament. That’s when the Death Angel came to Egypt and killed the first born in all the houses that did not have blood on the door post. We have heard that story, haven’t we? In fact, the term Death Angel is not found in the King James Bible nor in the original Hebrew account. The one that came to the visit the unmarked houses of the Egyptians was the Lord. (Ex. 12:23) “For the Lord (who? The Lord) will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord (again who?) will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.” All right, what about the term destroyer? The Hebrew interlinear shows this term as “the one running”. It does not say Death Angel. And who does it say in Ex. 12:29 smote the firstborn? The Lord.

Paul tells us to stand firm with the belt of truth buckled around our waist because when we wear the belt of truth, we will easily recognize a lie. Paul also tells us to wear the breastplate of righteousness. You know, the devil always tries to attack our hearts, but the breastplate of righteousness guards our hearts from his attacks. And we can stand firm because it’s God’s righteousness we rely on not our own.
Paul says that God has also given us a pair of sandals that will never ware out, and they provide the motivation to go out and preach the Gospel and let people know that they too can be at peace with God. He also tells us to take up the shield of faith. You know the devil will try to get us persecuted and tempt us, but with the shield of faith we can get through those times because we already know that our victory is sure in Christ Jesus.
And then Paul tells us to put on the helmet of salvation, and the reason we put that helmet on is because it stops the devil trying to stop you from being a good witness for the Lord. Your salvation is sure, because God sealed our victory in Christ Jesus.
And then he tells us to put on the sword of the Spirit, the very words of God Himself we find within our bible.
We need to encourage one another to stand firm, not to be blown around by every wind of teaching that comes along from men. Read your Bible, study it, meditate on it day and night and never let the word of God be far from your lips.
We know not every believer is called to stand here or teach a class … but every believer is called to make the Name of Jesus known. You don’t need to stand at the podium to preach a sermon. You can preach a sermon in your own home or in your work-place. The words you say, the attitude with which you say them, the opportunities you take …
You don’t have to use fancy words and try to impress others nor do you have to sound polished, no one really mistakes polish for sincerity … simply believe and trust in what God’s Word says, I Corinthians 1:17 preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. Romans 10:17 tells us to hear the word; Mark 16:16 teaches us that we must believe in Jesus; Acts 2:38 instructs us to repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God like the Eunuch did in Acts chapter 8; in Acts 2:38 Peter tells us we are to be baptized for the remission of our sins. If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.
Perhaps you are in the assembly today and your need is to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, they are welcome to come forward while we stand and sing.