The Presence Released
People laid the sick in the streets hoping that Peter's shadow would fall on them and they'd be healed.
so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Acts 5:15
Nevertheless, it wasn't Peter's shadow that brought healing. There is no substance to a shadow. Peter was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, and it was that presence that brought the miracles. The anointing is an expression of the person of the Holy Spirit. He is tangible. There were times in Jesus' ministry when everyone who touched Christ's clothing was healed or delivered
Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well. Mark 6:56
The anointing is substance. It is the actual presence of the Holy Spirit, and He can be released into our surroundings. Jesus explained an especially important part of the Christian life of ministry when He said,
The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life John 6:63
Jesus is the word made flesh. But when He spoke, the word became Spirit. That is what happens whenever we say what the Father is saying. We've all experienced this: we are in a troubling situation, and someone walks in the room and says something that changes the atmosphere of the entire room. It wasn't merely because they came in with a great idea. They spoke something that became material, a substance that changed the atmosphere. What happened? They spoke something timely and purposeful. They said what the Father was saying. Words become spirit. Words are the tools with which God created the world. The spoken word is also central to creating faith in us
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17
His spoken word is creative in nature. Saying what the Father is saying releases the creative nature and Presence of God into a situation to bring His influence and change. His Presence accompanies His acts. Faith brings a substantial release of Presence, which is visible time after time in Jesus' ministry. An act of faith is any action on the outside that demonstrates the faith on the inside. For example, If you tell someone to run on a severely injured ankle or leg. As soon as they do, they are healed. How? The Presence is released in the action. Something we should never do out of the principle of faith. We should only be willing to give that direction out of the Presence. Many leaders make a huge mistake at this point. We should never require someone to put themselves at risk out of a principle. If we are experiencing what appears to be a roadblock in our walk with Christ, then at times we should attempt a bold act of ourselves out of principle, if the Spirit leads. A Prophetic Act is a unique facet of the Christian life as it requires an action that by appearance has no connection to the desired outcome. Whereas stepping on an injured ankle is connected to the desired outcome, a healed ankle, a prophetic act has no connection. A great example would be when Elisha was told about a borrowed axe head that fell into the river. It says, He cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float 2 Kings 6:6
You can throw sticks in the water all day long and never make an axe head swim. The act is seemingly unrelated. The strength of the prophetic act is that it comes from the heart of the Father. It is a prophetic act of obedience that has a logic outside human reasoning. I'm sure you've seen this happen many times when someone is wanting a miracle. We ask them to move from where they were sitting and stand in the aisle of the church. It wasn't because there was more power of the Holy Spirit in the aisle. It's because it was a prophetic act that would release the presence of the Holy Spirit upon them. Jesus operated in this many times. He once told a blind man to wash in the pool of Siloam
And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing. John 9:7
There is no healing power in the pool. The miracle was released in the act of going and washing, both logically unrelated to the desired outcome. The laying on of hands is one of the primary doctrines of the church specifically referred to as a doctrine of Christ
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, 2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Hebrews 6:1-2
It was a practice in the Old Testament, too. The priest laid his hands on a goat to symbolically release the sins of Israel on that goat that would then be released into the wilderness. The laying on of hands upon the goat was to release something that would help Israel come into their purpose. It was also used to impart authority, as in the case of Moses and his elders. The apostle Paul laid his hands on Timothy to release apostolic commissioning. In Acts, hands were laid on people for the release of the Holy Spirit upon them.
And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, Acts 8:18
The point is this laying hands on people to release something of God into people's lives. It is a tool that God uses to release the reality of His world, His Presence, upon another. Worship has an unusual effect on our surroundings. We know that He inhabits our praise
But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
Psalms 22:3
It stands to reason that Presence is released. Atmosphere is changed. In fact, the atmosphere of Jerusalem came about in part because of worship.
We hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God Acts 2:11
Such praise contributed to an atmospheric shift over an entire city where the spiritual blindness was lifted, followed by 3,000 souls being saved. We've seen this ourself when we've rented a particular facility for church services, only to have the people who use it afterward comment on the Presence that remains. When we take people onto the streets it's quite often that we'd met with heavy resistance. It's then we realized that when God arises, His enemies are scattered, we can strategically use this approach for ministry
Let God arise,
Let His enemies be scattered;
Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.
2 As smoke is driven away,
So drive them away;
As wax melts before the fire,
So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
3 But let the righteous be glad;
Let them rejoice before God;
Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly. Psalms 68:1-3
It's good to split into teams of two. One half go and worship, and the other half minister to people. It's not unusual for the atmosphere to change when we are on the streets and crime to stop. This is an amazing result from a dove being released over a part of the city. The atmosphere changes as the Holy Spirit's Presence is given His rightful place.
