Timothy, Chosen and Set Apart

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This is Today With Derek Prince. The internationally recognized Bible teacher and author presents to you Keys To Successful Living.

Yesterday Derek Prince shared with us examples from the New Testament church of how the laying on of hands was used to send out apostles, appoint local church elders and impart a spiritual gift. At this conference in New Zealand he concludes his topic ‘Transmitting God’s Power’ by sharing about the Apostle Timothy who was chosen and set apart for ministry by the laying on of hands. Derek then outlines the possible dangers and safeguards inherent in this practice. Stay tuned at the end of today’s program for our address and this week’s special offer.

Derek Prince:

So, what was the purpose of laying on of hands in all these cases, whether it’s servants, or whether it’s apostles, or whether it’s elders? It’s to transmit authority and to set apart and endorse and equip a person for service.

Now, there’s another function of laying on of hands. Paul wrote to the Roman Christians and he said, ‘I would love to come to you and impart some spiritual gift to you.’ But he didn’t at that time go, he went later. In 2 Timothy chapter 1:6 Paul, writing to Timothy, says:

“I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”

So, a gift was transmitted to Timothy through the laying on of Paul’s hands. Now the Greek word used there is charisma from which we get the word charismatic. Let me give you my personal opinion, and you’re free to disagree with me, and you can still go to heaven—provided you love me! I believe that the charisma that was imparted to Timothy there was apostleship because we’ll find that there are some other apostles.

Now, let’s look at the apostleship of Timothy. Timothy was also an apostle. Maybe you didn’t know that, I’ll show you out of the Bible. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1:1. The letter is written by three men, which was quite normal in the New Testament: Paul, Silvanus—which is another way of saying Silas, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians. So these were the writers of the letter. Not just Paul but Paul, Silas and Timothy.

“Then in chapter 2 of that letter, verse 6, these same men—that’s Paul, Silas and Timothy—said:
Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.”

So all those three men—Paul, Silas and Timothy—were apostles. You understand, the ministry of apostles has not gone out of date because in Ephesians 4 God says He’s put apostles in the church till we all come to the unity of the faith. Anybody with a candid mind would have to acknowledge we have not yet come to the unity of the faith. Is that right? So, apostles are needed, pastors, evangelists, prophets, teachers, all are needed until the job is complete.

So, I’ve just pointed out to you we have now how many men? We have Paul, Barnabas, Silas, Timothy. That’s right. So there’s four or five apostles appointed after the Day of Pentecost.

I want to take a little time just to go into the question of Timothy’s apostleship. I’ve pointed out to you that Timothy is called an apostle. How did he become an apostle? I think this is a very important question, because I believe we need apostles desperately in the church. Mind you, I have to point out that Jesus commended the church of Ephesus because they tried those who said they were apostles and were not and found them liars. Don’t accept everybody’s claim to be an apostle, they have to be tested. You know where liars end up? Do you know that? You don’t know where liars end up? They end up in the lake of fire. So, it’s a very serious issue. Somebody claims to be an apostle and is not, he’s headed for the lake of fire.

Now, let’s look at this situation. Acts chapter 16, Paul has started out with Silas on his second missionary journey and it says in verse 1:

“He came to Derbe and Lystra, and behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed but his father was Greek. He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium.”

Now one thing that normally is required for anybody who’s going to hold a significant position in the church is they have a good report from their own congregation. If their own people can’t say well of them, what other people say about them matters very little.

Years ago I was in a situation where a lady was sent out to us when we were in Jerusalem from Sweden as a coworker. My first wife Lydia, who was very sharp, read through all the recommendations which were many. She said there’s just one thing missing. There’s no recommendation from her own church. We took her and we regretted it bitterly. She was a source of many problems. So I really try to master that lesson. When you choose a person, the most important recommendation is the people that lived with them, who’ve worked with them, who know them. If they can’t recommend them, no other recommendation is worth much.

But Timothy had a good report from the elders of the churches in which he had been ministering or living. So Paul took him along and said, ‘You come with me.’ And, we read later on, we have to follow this rather carefully, in 1 Timothy 4:14, Paul said to Timothy:

“Do not forget the gift that is in you which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.”

So my conclusion is that a prophetic word was given saying, Timothy is to go out with Paul and Silas. On the basis of that prophetic word and because of their knowledge of his character, the local elders laid hands on Timothy and sent him out. He received the gift, or the charisma, of apostleship. That’s the way I understand it.

Now you’ve got to balance with that what we’ve already read in 2 Timothy 1:6 where Paul says to Timothy:

“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”

There could be many ways of understanding that. I think the most probable way is in this situation in Lystra when the prophecy was given and duly tested, and the prophecy said Timothy is to go out with Paul and Silas, the elders said, ‘We endorse him,’ Paul said, ‘I receive him,’ and Paul and the elders laid hands on him and imparted to him the charisma of apostleship.

It’s very important to notice that the prophecy was very significant. Either prophecy is significant or it’s a waste of time. In 1 Timothy 1:18 Paul, writing to Timothy, says:

“This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare.”

Now that is a real purpose of prophecy, it’s to encourage a person who’s going to face opposition and know that God has really chosen you. I included this little incident in my book Laying on of Hands and it got here to New Zealand and quite a well known Christian leader in New Zealand whose name I will not mention had a prophecy over him when he was in the United States that said he was to do a certain task. He got very discouraged and he was about to give up and he read this and he said, ‘I’m going to go by the prophecies.’ This was really one of the things that got him into his ministry which has now affected this nation and many others.

See how significant a prophecy can be if it’s given in the Holy Spirit? I have to tell you, friends, I’m sick of a lot of prophesying. I call it Charismatic fortune-telling. People come in, lay hands on you and say, ‘You will do this and you will do that.’ Maybe, but in most cases it doesn’t happen. There’s a very thin line between prophecy and fortune-telling. You know that fortune-tellers can tell the truth, you know that? In Acts 16 it was a fortune-telling woman who first recognized who Paul and Silas were. Before anybody else in the city of Philippi, she knew these were the servants of the Most High God who show us the way of salvation. And yet, she was a servant of Satan. I just want to warn you of that.

Now, I’ve got to deal, hopefully briefly, with dangers and safeguards. I have only a few moments. Two dangers which are mentioned. First of all, endorsing someone who is unworthy because when you do that and you make a mess, you’re partly responsible for the mess they make.

The second is what I call spiritual contamination. You may lay hands on somebody to pray for deliverance from an evil spirit but you have to know how to protect yourself because it can be a two-way transaction. Either you can impart the Spirit of God or that spirit can affect you, the evil spirit. I remember an occasion when a group of us still in the army laid hands on a man who was suffering from severe depression. We didn’t really have the leading of the Lord, we just did it. Do you know what happened? We all got attacked by depression. We hadn’t protected ourselves.

So, when you lay hands on somebody you need protection. This is how, with prayer and humility. Be directed by the Holy Spirit. ‘As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.’ Be protected by the blood of Jesus. Know how to keep yourself under the blood of Jesus. And bear in mind that Jesus said to His disciples, ‘I give you authority over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you.’ Amen.

Announcer:

Today’s program concluded Derek Prince’s teaching on ‘Transmitting God’s Power’ Join us again next week when Derek will continue his series Laying the Foundation, with his next theme ‘At the End of Time,’ a topic which examines what the Bible has to say about the end of this world order and our role as Christians in God’s end time plans.

This week’s message is available on audiocassette No. RC4166, and also on video. Our special offer this week is The Spirit-filled Believer’s Handbook, an effective reference tool for counseling, witness and ministry, as well as a necessary guide for new believers on living a successful Christian life. To receive your copy of ‘Transmitting God’s Power’ write today and include a contribution of $5.00 or more for audiocassette RC4166 or $14.95 for the video teaching. Include a gift of $15.00 or more for The Spirit-filled Believer’s Handbook.

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