At the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, just before He ascended back into heaven, it is written in Mark 16:14-20, “Afterward He appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.  And these signs shall follow them that believe; in My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.  So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.  And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.”
    By what we see here, Jesus wasn’t too happy with the disciples that didn’t believe He was raised from the dead, even though He had told them many times before that it was going to happen.  These men had walked and talked with Jesus and had been taught by Him for three and a half years, and surely by now, the disciples must have known that Jesus was good for His word, right?  Well, if they did, they sure didn’t act like it. 

They acted like a lot of Christians do today. They hear or read the word of God and give it about as much faith as they would give their local used car dealer.  Next, Jesus said, He that believeth and is baptized (the greek word “baptizo”) shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned (condemned).  I mean, it doesn’t get any clearer than this. You can’t please God without faith and belief in His word, period.  What part of “but he that believeth not shall be damned” don’t you understand?  Now, I know there are many, many well intentioned Christians that would tell you that a loving God would never condemn anyone to hell, and they are partially right….God will not send anyone to hell.  No, actually, they will send themselves to hell by their choice not to believe. 
     But to those who choose to believe, Jesus said great authority and power would be theirs. How would you know which ones believe, and which ones don’t?  That’s easy, “And these signs shall follow them that believe;
in my name shall they cast out devils.  OOOOOHHH, I don’t know about that one, we don’t mess with that stuff in our church.  Well, in JESUS’ church, they do.. Jesus came to set the captives free, not leave them bound up in the devil’s control….and he instructed his believers to carry on the work here on earth that He started.     They shall speak with new tongues;  just as the early church did after the Holy Ghost fell upon them on the day of Pentecost, and afterwards when believers believed.  Some will say “that isn’t for today”.  Let me ask you, is salvation for today? You can’t have it without faith.  In fact, you can’t have anything from God without faith. You don’t start speaking in other tongues because of what denomination church you belong to, you start speaking in other tongues when the Holy Ghost comes upon you. Just like the early believers did. They didn’t know what hit ’em, they just started doing it.  It flowed from their innermost being as they spoke as the Holy Ghost gave them utterance.  God says I change not. So His job description for “believer” doesn’t either. 
      They shall take up serpents; ….no, that doesn’t mean they pick up snakes and handle them.  Jesus said in Luke 10:19, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”  He was referring to uprooting and dislodging devils from people.      and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them;   Does this mean it’s ok to drink a glass of gasoline to check out your spiritual state?  No, you’ll die. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.  But if someone tries to poison you and you don’t know it, God will protect you, just as He protected Paul when he was bitten by the viper that came out of the fire and fastened on him. They expected him to drop dead, but he didn’t even swell up. 
    they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover!  Personally, I like this particular part a lot, as I have a ministry in healing and evangelism.  When I’m ministering to someone who is sick and suffering in their body, their mind is on their sickness, more than what I am trying to tell them.  What is needed most right then?  Healing for their body, so they can be relieved and focus their full attention on what God is telling them.
Jesus said if I believe, and I do, then when I lay hands on someone who is sick, they shall recover.  Notice the word “shall”.  Strong stuff there!  Not “maybe”, or “I hope so…” or “maybe if it’s God’s will…”  NO! NO! NO!, A THOUSAND TIMES NO!  Jesus said they shall recover! 
    So….let me ask you…are you a believer?  If you are, Jesus said these signs will follow you.  In other words, anyplace you go, things like this are going to happen.  People will know you’ve been with Jesus. When there’s someone in the hospital sick or hurt in an accident, are they calling you to come and pray? Do they know that if they can just get you to come and pray, that person will recover?  Do you shine for Jesus like a light in the darkness? Can they tell that you’ve been with the Lord?
    How exactly will the Kingdom of God grow on this earth?  By believers living a life of power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit, just like in the days of the early church. It is written in Mark 16:20 “And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.”
 
    So what are you waiting for? Jesus said He would confirm His word with signs following, so GO PREACH THE GOSPEL!
Your job isn’t to do the signs and wonders. Your job is to go preach the gospel, if you are a believer. God’s job is to do the signs and wonders. 
 No believer is exempt from Jesus’ command to go preach the gospel. I’m going, preaching as I go.  How about you?  If you can’t go, then you need to send someone in your place, HERE AM I, SEND ME!
 
PLEASE CONSIDER PARTNERING WITH US TO SEND US FORTH  WITH PROVISION TO PREACH IF YOU CAN’T GO PREACH.
FOR EVERY SOUL WE WIN INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD, OUR PARTNERS SHARE THE REWARDS WITH US.
THE EXCUSE  “I COULDN’T GO, OR FIND ANYONE TO GO IN MY PLACE” ISN’T GOING TO STAND WITH JESUS.
I’M HERE. I’M EQUIPPED,  I’LL GO ON YOUR BEHALF. LET’S GET TOGETHER AND GET THIS JOB DONE.