THESE SIGNS WILL FOLLOW THOSE WHO BELIEVE.
THESE SIGNS WILL FOLLOW THOSE WHO BELIEVE.
I will start by quoting Mark 16:15-19. “And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 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.”
Jesus commissioned His disciples, but all Christians are His disciples. We are followers of Christ. Sometimes we think that only the evangelist should preach the Gospel, but we should all be preaching about Jesus wherever we are. It says that we should preach the Gospel to every creature, but I do not think that it means animals. We can heal and drive out evil spirits of animals. The devil can use an animal with an evil spirit to hurt and destroy. I have experienced this very closely myself.
How can we all preach the Gospel? You now the people you meet every day. I am quite sure that you come in contact with non-believers. It is important that you are lead by The Holy Spirit when you present the Gospel to other people. Some Christians have been very unwise and they have tried to force people to make a decision they were not ready for. If you love Jesus and people, you will share Jesus with others in a simple and natural way. You might share your personal testimony, telling others what Jesus has done for you, your family and friends. It is not easy to discuss a personal testimony. My youngest daughter is often asking people if they are having pain I their bodies and if the answer is yes, she asks if she can pray for them. If they say yes, she prays a simple prayer and most of them get much better or totally healed. She is always pointing to Jesus as the Healer and some people might get saved as a result of the healing. Most people have experienced God’s power through this prayer and that might lead to their salvation later in life.
The first sign that is mentioned in Mark 16 is that all believers should drive out evil spirits. Many Christians are afraid of or against driving out demons. They say that Christians cannot be possessed. I totally agree with that. A possession means that your entire being is ruled by an evil spirit and that is impossible since our spirit is pure and ready to go to heaven. Our soul and body can harbor evil spirits. They can enter through curses in the family, through sinful behavior and traumatic experiences. There are more reasons, but you have the authority to get rid of them both in yourself and others. We have two ditches: One is saying that Christians cannot have any demons. The other one is that there are demons everywhere and when we drive them out, we need to have buckets everywhere. We read in the Bible that they could come out screaming, but we also read that Jesus drove them out by one word. Mark 16 is saying that every saved person can drive out demons, but many are not using this authority. I know that everything is not a demon. We are also having some flesh that need to be crucified. Some are also having psychical problems. Sin can also be a problem and sin need to be confessed and dealt with before one is delivered. The gift of discernment is very necessary in order to know the root of the problem. To start a process of forgiveness is also very important before one is delivered.
Another sign that is mentioned is the sign of speaking in tongues. Many Christians do not believe in speaking in tongues. Some Christians are even saying that speaking in tongues come from the devil. This gift is definitely given to us as a free gift from God. The Bible is saying that we are speaking secrets with God. We can also receive a gift of speaking in tongues and to interpret the tongues. That is not the intimate language that God has given to you. You might have been to a meeting where someone gets up and deliver a message in tongues and somebody else is interpreting the tongues. These gifts are gifts of The Spirit. Speaking in tongues is a sign for all believers in Jesus.
Mark 16 continues to say that we should be able to hold snakes in our hands. I do not believe that we should play with snakes, but we have been given authority over them. We are not supposed to drink poison if we know that it is poison, but it should not harm us when we get something poisonous in our body without knowing. God will protect us.
Every Christian believer should be able to lay hands on the sick and the sick shall recover. Jesus carried our sickness on the Cross, but we are supposed to give healing to the sick by laying on hands. It is not always easy to believe that everybody will get well, but that is what the word is saying. We are doing the easy part. The Lord is doing the hard part.
Why doesn’t all believers practice Mark 16? Is it possible to be a believer if you do not practice these signs? Maybe it is a lack of teaching and knowledge? You have read these two pages and have no excuse.
BECOME ONE WHO PRACTICES MARK 16!
Mother Else