Published by admin on 01 Jun 2018 at 01:16 pm
SIGNS FOLLOWING
On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on those gathered in the upper room worshipping God, the power of God began manifesting mightily in signs and wonders through the believers. Some people think that only the original disciples did signs and wonders, but that isn’t the case at all. What good would it have been if the Holy Spirit only did miracles for the original disciples, then quit after they died? Well, it would have given the body of Christ a jump start, alright, but it would have soon fizzled out. And “fizzling out” isn’t what God had in mind at all on Pentecost. It was only the BEGINNING!
Acts 6:8 says, And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
Acts 8:5-6 says, Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
Acts 15:5-9 is a key passage:
5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command themto keep the law of Moses.
6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Acts 19:11-12 says,
11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
So you can see by these passages, God worked miracles through what we would call the “ordinary believers”, as they were not among the original twelve disciples. Obviously they were taught by the original disciples that THEY could also do signs, wonders, and miracles through the working of the Holy Spirit. Did God stop THERE? NO! Those works are to continue until the return of Christ! Has He returned yet? No, then that means the power to do them is still available to whosoever will believe. I believe, and God does them for me, and I’m no better than YOU are. It’s just that I literally take God at His Word, so He makes it work for me, just like the Lord Jesus says in Mark 16:15-18,
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 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.
Granted, here Jesus was talking to the twelve, BUT, pay close attention to verse 17,
And these signs shall follow them that believe.
And THAT my friend means just exactly what it says: “Them that believe”. What about those who DON’T believe? Well, not to worry, God won’t embarrass them with signs and wonders following if they don’t believe. Nor will he with YOU. Now I’m not talking about those who HOPE they believe, or THINK they may believe. No, I’m talking about those whose faith is so strong in the Word of God that you couldn’t beat it out of them. THEY will do signs and wonders and miracles, so long as they continue believing. When you quit believing, the signs, wonders, and miracles quit also, plain and simple. That’s why you may have heard of miracles at the hands of certain ministers at one time, but no more. You see, the gifts and calling of God is without repentance, in other words, He doesn’t call the gifts back. God never changes. But unbelief and doubt will keep them from working, even if they worked before.
I’m writing this today to stir up the gifts once given to the Believers. It is written in Jude, verses 3-5,
3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
There have been many who have preached a “watered down” Gospel of Jesus Christ that is without the power to save and deliver and heal, but you won’t hear it from ME. I still preach repentance from sin, I still preach hell is real, and you don’t want to go there. And I still preach the goodness and mercy of God for those who turn from their sins, and yes, I still warn the sinners that they will not prosper in their ways in the end. God takes no pleasure in the death of a sinner, after all, He sacrificed Christ Jesus to DESTROY the works of the devil.
Sadly, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been perverted by fleshly desires for fame and money and other lusts of the flesh. You can tell who they are, for the signs Jesus spoke of in Mark 16:17-18 do NOT follow them.
Could YOU be like Peter, whose SHADOW healed the sick as he walked by? Sure, why not? The same Holy Ghost that filled HIM can also fill YOU, and work in you like it did him. But HOW can it happen? By YOU becoming like Peter; altogether sold out to Jesus 24/7. It’s a high price, are YOU willing to pay it? If so, signs and wonders will follow YOU, too. Think about that today, and if you think you have what it takes, GO FOR IT! You’ll make God smile! (and me, too.)
Mel C Montgomery on 01 Jun 2018 at 4:36 pm #
Thank you, Brother Jerry. This was a blessing. 🙂