Gtcotr/ws082218
The
Bible teaches the importance of acting in faith. The half-brother of Jesus,
James, became the first pastor of the Church in Jerusalem. When he wrote the
book of James he encouraged us to consider that faith without works is dead.
James used the example of Noah who believed God but would have perished in the
flood had he not acted on his faith and built a boat. The scriptures do not
teach that we are saved by works, we can be saved and go to heaven by grace
through our faith alone. However, if we desire to live a victorious Christian
life, we must act on our faith and do what faith demands.
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 will
follow those who believe …”
Three things we have learned from Mark 16 thus far:
·
Our lives
are meant to be an expression of the Gospel to others on God’s terms.
·
Faith is
our commitment to God while Water Baptism is our profession before men.
·
Signs
follow believers … Believers do not follow signs.
Mark 16
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
o
Force; command; expel; drive out; compel;
reject
o
Evil spirits who are messengers and ministers
of the devil
o
Deliverance from deception, oppression and
possession are manifested by command of those who believe in the Name of Jesus.
Acts 19 NKJV
11 Now God worked unusual
miracles by the hands of Paul,
12 so that even handkerchiefs
or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them
and the evil spirits went out of them.
13 ¶ Then some of the
itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord
Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus
whom Paul preaches.”
14 Also there were seven sons
of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
15 And the evil spirit
answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
16 Then the man in whom the
evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them,
so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
17 This became known both to
all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the
name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
18 And many who had believed
came confessing and telling their deeds.
19 Also, many of those who
had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the
sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled
fifty thousand pieces of silver.
20 So the word of the Lord
grew mightily and prevailed.
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 Continued …
3.
Take up serpents
4.
If they drink anything deadly, it will not
hurt them
5.
Lay hands on the sick and they will recover
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.
