Gtcotr/ws082918
There
is a certain image conjured up in the minds of many people when they read the
last passage in the Gospel of Mark. It is a difficult passage to preach from in
some denominations unless you are willing to water it down almost to the point
of denying its authoritative context.
Controversies
exists in some circles to the point that a person can be kicked out of a
Church, the Church suspended from the denomination or the pastor let go from
leadership if they dare to suggest that these verses have any bearing on the
Christian faith today. In other denominations the opposite deviations exists
making it necessary to openly embrace and experience the list of signs in Mark
16, or else the salvation of the person without this practice is considered
empty and faithless.
The
controversies to which I am referring are:
·
Speaking
in tongues
·
Casting
out demons
·
Taking
up serpents
·
Drinking
deadly poisons
·
Healing
the sick
This
evening we are going to affirm the authority of the scriptures and the faith of
Believers without erring on either side of these doctrines. This passage is the
Word of God and Truth for all mankind. Our accurate
interpretation must follow our estimation of the scriptures. Now, let’s begin our study of Tongues
and Snakes tonight.
Mark 16
15 And He said to them, “Go
into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 “He who believes and is
baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
17 “And these signs shall
follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak
with new tongues;
18 “they will take up
serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them;
they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
1.
Cast out
demons
Matthew 10:1 And when He had
called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over
unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all
kinds of disease.
Jesus’ great commission includes Him giving
every Believer the power and the authority to cast out demons. This particular
study of the phrase in verse 17 concerning casting out demons is not meant to
be a spiritual guide on demonology or deliverance. Much has been written on
this subject in the scriptures and by scholars alike however, let’s firmly
conclude that we have authority over the devil and all of his demons in the
Name of Jesus.
2.
Speak with
new tongues
a.
Speak: The use of words and
sounds to communicate or disclose one’s mind and declare one’s thoughts.
b.
New: An unprecedented,
uncommon, unheard of, unusual and new
c.
Tongues: Language
or dialect specific to and distinct from those languages spoken by other
nations
Acts 2 NKJV
1 ¶ When the Day of Pentecost
had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a
sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house
where they were sitting.
3 Then there appeared to them
divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance.
Tongues are often controversial utterances
among the religious, while at the same time they are a sign to unbelievers. (1
Corinthians 14:22)
Acts 2
5 ¶ And there were dwelling
in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
6 And when this sound
occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone
heard them speak in his own language.
7 Then they were all amazed
and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak
Galileans?
8 “And how is it that
we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?
§ Acts 10:44-48
§ Acts 19:1-6
§ 1 Corinthians 12:7-11
§ 1 Corinthians 13:1
§ 1 Corinthians 14:2
§ 1 Corinthians 14:14
1 Corinthians 14
18 I thank my God I speak
with tongues more than you all;
19 yet in the church I would
rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also,
than ten thousand words in a tongue.
1 Corinthians 14:39
Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to
speak with tongues.
1 Corinthians 14:
2 For he who speaks in a
tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him;
however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.
4 He who speaks in a tongue
edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.
Mark 16:18 Continued …
3.
Take up
serpents
We have previously discussed how Each Prophecy
is fulfilled in three ways:
·
The specific fulfillment – It will
happen to a specific person at a specific time to clearly fulfill the Word of
the Lord. Such is the case of Isaiah 43:2 which was specifically fulfilled in
Daniel 3:25&27.
·
The general fulfillment – In that
every Believer can look to, profess, and have confidence in each and every Word
of God. It gives us hope to all and for many it releases the anointing and
manifests the eternal will of God in this temporal life.
·
The eternal fulfillment – One day,
when eternity begins with the new heaven and the new earth, every prophecy will
have it’s ultimate fulfillment as it applies to the eternal will and purpose of
God for His children. God has always been building an eternity …
The specific fulfillment of this prophetic
word came to the Apostle Paul as recorded in:
Acts 28
3 But when Paul had gathered
a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because
of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
4 So when the natives saw the
creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is
a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to
live.”
5 But he shook off the
creature into the fire and suffered no harm.
6 However, they were
expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had
looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds
and said that he was a god.
The general Word gives each Believer hope
that if spiritual or natural serpents attach themselves to us that we will be
victorious and that they cannot harm us. We can hold to this Word of God to
know His will and therefore never doubt God’s ability to save and deliver us
from evil.
If we were to consider the wording in the
translation of Mark 16:17 of the phrase, “will take up”, we would find the
Greek word used herein is also translated: take off; take away; remove; carry
off; carry away; take from among; and cause to cease. This shows a clear intent
to reveal the power and the authority we have over serpents whether natural or
spiritual. In other words … nothing shall by any means hurt you … and this if
for today!
Luke 10
19 “Behold, I give you the
authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the
enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20 “Nevertheless do not
rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in
heaven.”
There are … nonetheless, greater concerns and
greater miracles and greater priorities for the Believer.
As well, the eternal fulfillment of this Word
from Jesus will be seen in the ultimate binding of the original serpent which
deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden … One day we will witness the physical
binding and removal of this sneaky snake from our midst forever and ever!
I do not believe nor do we teach that anyone
should ever put themselves or suggest that anyone else put themselves in the
path of a poisonous snake or any other danger on purpose trying to prove faith
or spirituality … one might as well step in front of a moving train and trust
God to be delivered. It’s not a consideration of faith … that would be more
akin to testing God from the standpoint of stupidity … forgive me for using the
S word.
As well, we should not drink any deadly thing
either however, if anything does try and harm us, we have an advocate with the
Father and a reason to hope and pray that it will not hurt us. Pray and confess
this verse … however, you may find yourself discussing this doctrine more fully
with St Peter.
4.
If they
drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them
5.
Lay hands
on the sick and they will recover
James 5
14 Is anyone among you sick?
Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him,
anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer of faith
will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed
sins, he will be forgiven.
I cannot tell you why we don’t see every
person instantly healed from every sickness and disease when we pray. I can
tell you that it does happen and that our faith has a huge part to play in
moving the hand of God but, even the greatest faith a man or woman could
possess will not and should not override the purpose-filled plan and will of
God.
We are told to not worry about anything but
instead, pray about everything; tell God what we want and then thank Him for
everything He does. (Philippians 4:6 NLT)
I believe that there is more work to be done
in heaven than there is on the earth. I also believe that the work which is
being done in heaven is very important. Jesus said that He was more needed in heaven
and that it would be better for us if He went there and worked from here. I
believe that Jesus did His job on earth and He is doing more for us from there
than He could do from here. It was the will of God to limit the span of lives
on earth and to take the limits off of life beyond death for the Believer.
We pray to keep the ball in God’s court … And
to help keep our heart and will in agreement with His. Prayer always gives us
the victory … and we often see victory in the situation before we see victory
over the situation.
When discussing the plight of Shadrach,
Meshech and Abednego, we confirmed that:
1.
We know what God is able to do
2.
We do not know what God will do
3.
We do know what we will do
4.
We will trust God, put our hope in Him and pray the Word.
Mark 16
19 ¶ So then, after the Lord
had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right
hand of God.
20 And they went out and
preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word
through the accompanying signs. Amen.
