God Still Heals Series

God Still Heals

Text: Acts 5:12-16

Introduction

1. Illustration: God is moving powerfully in and amongst children in this hour. You will see MANY children raised up to preach, heal, prophesy, move in miracles, signs, and wonders. (Patricia King).

2. Church, our God is still in the miracle working business! He still performs miracles, still heals, and still does things that cannot be understood through natural means.

3. Read Acts 5:12-16

Proposition: The God that lived in the Book of Acts is still the same today.

Transition: One thing God still does is He…

I. Still Does Signs and Wonders (12-14).

A. Performing Many Miraculous Sign and Wonders

1. Luke gives us a summary of what is going on at this time in the early church.

2. God was using the apostles to show his mighty and miraculous power. In v. 12 Luke tells us, “The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade.”

a. The apostles were continuing to be full of the Holy Spirit and in his power.

b. They were continuing to do mighty works of healing and miraculous signs and wonders.

c. The term “wonders” refers to supernatural manifestations of God’s power. In other words, they have less to do with the people doing them and more to do with God.

d. God used the apostles to do these supernatural wonders among the people.

e. This was a continuation of the ministry of Jesus. He had told them “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father” (Jn. 14:12).

f. They did just what Jesus had predicted; they were doing the same works as Jesus.

g. Just as he healed people, now the apostles would heal.

h. Furthermore, Luke tells us that there continued to be unity in the church.

i. They were regularly meeting at the Temple. Daily they were meeting from worship and prayer.

j. All of this was going on despite what had happened to Ananias and Sapphira. The church was still together in the ministry of the Gospel.

3. In v. 13, Luke tells us something puzzling. He says, “But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them.”

a. The reason this verse is so puzzling is that Luke doesn’t clearly tell why people didn’t join them. He does that sometimes, because he doesn’t want to repeat something that he has already stated elsewhere.

b. So, we kind of need to determine it based on what has already happened.

c. First, some people were afraid because of what had happened to Ananias and Sapphira. Imagine what would happen here if the headlines read, “Married Couple Drops Dead During Oostanaula Methodist Service!” I don’t think that people would be banging on the door to get in.

d. Another reason that people didn’t dare to join them was because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities.

e. Remember, Peter and John had already been arrested and threatened not to speak in the name of Jesus.

f. However, look at what Luke says at the end of the verse, “even though all the people had high regard for them.”

g. The people regarded them highly and showed great respect for them because they saw that they were people of integrity, and they were living according to God’s high standard.

h. They also regarded them because they saw the apostles’ doing signs and wonder among them.

4. However, even though some people dared not join them, Luke tells us that the church kept growing. In v. 14 he says, “Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord—crowds of both men and women.”

a. Luke tells us that the church continued to grow by leaps and bounds. He says, “more and more” people were coming to the Lord - both men and women.

b. Scores of people were coming to have faith in and believe in Jesus. It has been estimated that the church at this time had reached over 10,000 people.

c. The fear and disbelief of some was not a deterrent to others because God’s Spirit was moving in the church and people were believing and receiving the Gospel!

d. When you do God’s work in God’s way big things begin to happen.

B. These Miraculous Signs

1. Illustrations: “People do not expect to see signs and wonders today as the disciples saw them of old. Has God changed? Or has our faith waned so that we are not expecting the greater works that Jesus promised?” (Samuel Wigglesworth)

2. We should believe God for signs and wonders.