Deut 31:6 “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
‘You can teach what you know, but you will reproduce what you are.’ –John Maxwell
Deut 31:7-8 “Then Moses called for Joshua, and as all Israel watched, he said to, “Be strong and courageous! For you will lead these people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors he would give them. You are the one who will divide it among them as their grants of land. 8 Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
God wants to impart to you ‘no fear’. He is with you. He will not leave you. He will stay with you–forever and always.
Josh 1:5-9 “No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. 6 “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Don’t turn away from what you’ve been given. Don’t turn from what you’ve been taught. Think about what the Word of God actually says. Think about it, meditate on it. Keep it in your heart and mind. Then, do it.
What do you need to be a missionary? The answer is in v8: ‘Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.’
If Jesus is with you, you can stand like a little kitty with a lion behind him. If something comes against you, let Jesus fight for you. ‘God is for you. What can be against you?’
Impartation is passing on something to someone. You can pass on a piece of land, a name, an anointing, authority. Police officers have both authority and power. The authority is shown through the badge and the power is on the hip (the gun).
If you have His Spirit in you, you need to respond to Him throughout your day (and night) and walk in that Spirit. Choose to not be afraid and instead be faithful.
Scripture is full of examples of various impartations.
Another way to think about impartation is ‘influence.’ The people you choose to hang out with matter. They influence you. They impart stuff to you. You need to separate from bad influences. There is power in separation. The reason you aren’t able to get over certain issues is because of the people you hang out with. You aren’t strong enough in your own power. If you separate, God will help you.
Amnon had a friend.
2 Sam 13:1-3 “Now David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. And Amnon, her half brother, fell desperately in love with her. 2 Amnon became so obsessed with Tamar that he became ill. She was a virgin, and Amnon thought he could never have her. 3 But Amnon had a very crafty friend—his cousin Jonadab. He was the son of David’s brother Shimea.”
Amnon committed a terrible sin because of the influence of his friend.
Elisha was influenced by Elijah. Elisha hung around the prophet of God and had Elijah’s fingerprints all over him. He ended up with twice the anointing of Elijah.
Ruth refused to leave her mother-in-law. Ruth chose her mother-in-law’s God to be her own. Because of that good choice in her life, she became the great, great, great grandmother of Jesus.
The relationship you have today with Jesus just might be traced back to someone’s prayers.
Heb 6:1 “So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. 2 You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.
The doctrine of laying on of hands is far more than healing. It’s also impartation.
The Doctrine of the Laying on of Hands includes three things:
- transmitting spiritual blessing or authority,
- acknowledging publicly that there is something already received from God (public announcement), and
- publicly committing a person to God for some special ministry or task.
The Doctrine of Laying on of Hands transmits blessing and authority. In the Old Testament there was a transfer of sin from the people to the sacrifice (the goat). This was all done through the laying on of hands.
Jacob laid his hands on Ephraim and Manasseh.
Be careful how you lay your hands on people. To lay your hands on someone’s head is taking authority over that person. Don’t lay hands on people if you don’t have faith.
Deut 34:9 “Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him, doing just as the Lord had commanded Moses.”
You can impart wisdom. Encouraging people with your mouth and spirit changes people. Spread the power of God while you transmit stuff.
Paul wanted to lay his hands on Timothy to impart some spiritual gift.
You are not the victim. Be careful. If you view yourself that way, you transmit that to others.
David said, ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not lack any good thing because his rod and his staff comfort me.’ The rod is for beating off the enemies. The staff is for the sheep to get back in line.
Sheep dogs herd sheep a certain way. David said, ‘Everywhere I go, goodness and mercy follow me.’ Those sheep dogs’ names are Goodness and Mercy. God will get you where you need to be.
Jesus said, ‘Come to me and drink…and out of you shall flow rivers of living water.’ Maybe you just wanted a drink, but Jesus wants to cause you to pass on a drink to others. We are called to be fountains.
Peter walked on water and then fell. He reached for Jesus and was saved from drowning. In the name of Jesus, he then reached for a man who was crippled and lifted him up so that formerly lame could come into the sanctuary with him.
We need each other.
‘Such as I have, in the Name of Jesus, give I to you.’
More Questions for Personal or Group Study:
- What really spoke to you in this message?
- What have you imparted to someone? What has been imparted to you? What will you do with that?
- Read Romans 12. According to these verses, how are we to live? If we choose to live this way, what will we impart to others? How will our lives and those around us be changed?
- How can you encourage someone else with this message?
Excerpted from a sermon preached by Pastor Anthony LoCascio.
If you are looking for an Apostolic Pentecostal church and are in the Chicagoland area, come check out The Life Church of Northbrook.
We have services on Sundays at 11 am: The Life Church of Northbrook and Life Groups on Wednesdays at 7 pm.
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