When People See You – They See….. (Part 2)
Scripture: Matthew 13:24-30; Mark 16:17-18; Luke 6:27; John 13:34-35
Introduction:
Two weeks ago I delivered the part one of this message. I asked you the question, “What do people see when they see you, do they see God?” I told you about my time in basic training for the Air Force and how I was first known as a rainbow, then a pickle and then as a person who was getting ready to graduate. I took you to the Scripture found in Matthew 13:24-30 where Jesus gave the parable to the wheat and the tares and how the enemy had sown the tares among the landowner’s wheat. My point in part one was to get you to understand that although many people think that you can no longer differentiate a Christian from a non-believer, we can. This morning we will look at what the Scriptures says are the differences that everyone should be able to see – EASILY. Turn with me to Mark 17:17-18
I. These Signs Shall Follow Them That Believes
“And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 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.” Mark 17:17-18
In these two verses found in Mark, we find several “signs” that Jesus mentions will follow those that believe. For many years I interpreted these verses to mean every Christian would have some of these signs present in their lives, but that is not the case. All those all of these are available, not everyone will exhibit them based on what they chose to believe. Many are those who do not believe in the “supernatural” and therefore they do not expect it to be evident in their lives. However, if you believe that as a Christian you can and should expect miracles and signs to be evident in your life, they will be. The key to this is that you must believe. You can be a Christian, saved and sanctified and never speak in tongues, cast out a devil or see someone healed because of your prayer. But if you desire to fully experience what God has made available to you, then you must believe.
Let me explain it this way. I have a riding lawnmower that I use to cut my yard. I only use it to cut and fertilize my yard. I can buy other attachments that will allow me to remove snow from my driveway, haul trash, and even aerate the yard. But I am not interested in using it for everything that it can do, just the two things that I need right now, mowing and fertilizing. If I chose to expand my usage, then I could get all of these other attachments and do almost anything I need to do in my yard. Having supernatural signs operating in your life is like this. You have the lawnmower (being saved) and for you maybe that is enough, but for others they want the other attachments, the supernatural signs. There are many movies out there that make light of God’s power, but believe me, it is very real.
II. “They Shall Cast Out Devils”
Let’s look at these signs more closely. The first one is that in Jesus name we will “cast out devils”. I am sure many of you have seen movies where someone was possessed and the priest was called to cast the demon out. Sometimes they were successful and sometimes they were not. One movie that comes to my mind is the movie the “Exorcist”. Although on the big screen we can make light of this issue, when you come face to face with it, it is no laughing matter. Jesus has given us the authority to cast out demons, but you must know where you stand before you step out in such a way. The demons will know if you are walking as a child of God. Let me give you an example as recorded in the book of Acts. Before we turn there, I need to set the stage. During the New Testament times, demon spirits were believed to come into contact with humans through occult practices such as magic, spells, divination (communicating with the dead) or participation in religious paganisms. They were believed to be the chief cause of mental illness and insanity. (Note: One of the differences between a mental illness and a truly demon possessed person is that the demon can speak and will submit to the name of Jesus when used by someone who is walking in the authority Christ gave us.) They also believed that demon spirits were ordered and arranged with an entire hierarchy of power which Paul confirms in Ephesians 6:12. Because of this, there were Jews who practice exorcisms successfully based on guidelines that King Solomon had put into place many years before. King Solomon’s method was said to be so efficacious that the devils that were cast out could never return. What the exorcist would do was apply to the nose of the possessed person a type of ring under which was a certain root prescribed by Solomon. Through this method they would draw out the evil spirit through the man’s nostrils. The possessed then fell to the ground and the exorcist commanded the evil spirit in the name of Solomon never to return and then recited one of Solomon’s incantations. To give full assurance to the bystanders that the evil spirit had really left the man, the exorcist placed a vessel full of water at some distance off and commanded the ejected spirit to overturn it which he did.
These exorcists were still practicing this way when Jesus walked the earth. So, to see someone just speak to the demonic spirit and tell it to come out without following this procedure and seeing the demon leave was something new and exciting. Here is where the story recorded in the book of Acts becomes relevant. Through the hands of Paul, God was performing extraordinary miracles. It caught the attention of some brothers who tried to do the same. Turn to Acts 19, verses 13 through 16. Acts 19:13-16 records the following, “But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had evil spirits, the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, ‘I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.’ Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, ‘I recognize Jesus and I know about Paul, but who are you?’ And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”
These seven brothers of Sceva either witnessed or heard about what Paul was doing and decided that they would “catch the new wave” and make a name for themselves. Notice what they said when they spoke to the man possessed “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” They were trying to cast out a demon by using the name of Jesus in whom they did not believe. How do we know they did not believe in Christ? If they were a believer (in Jesus), they would not have referred to Jesus as the one whom Paul preaches. Also, if they were truly believers the demon would have come out. In this case the demon did not come out but actually through that man’s body, jumped on the brothers and beat them. When the word got out as to what had happened to these brothers, many of the people came and accepted Christ and confessed all of the things they had been involved in pertaining to occult practices (magical arts, incantations, spells, other types of witchcraft.) They brought all of their books and burned them for they were walking away from their former lives and practices. Although the seven brothers believed in casting out demons, they did not believe in Christ and the demons knew it. One last thing, if you are saved and walking in your authority given to you by Christ, demons will recognize God within you – they will be able to see it without you ever having to tell them. It is a spiritual thing. One final note, Jesus never went looking for demons to cast out, but He was ready they the cases presented to Him. We are not called to be “Demon-busters” ion the sense that our jobs are to go looking for them. Our job is to win souls for Christ and when confronted by demons while doing that, we are to deal with the situation and move on. Casting out demons is not and should not become the focal point of our ministries.
III. “They Shall Speak With New Tongues”
There are many people who do not believe in speaking in tongues yet that does not mean that it is not real. There is a lot of misunderstanding surrounding speaking in tongues as well as a lot of abuse. I cannot go into everything in this message, but I want to highlight that this is one of the signs that will follow along side of those that believe. The first example of speaking in tongues is found in Acts 2:1-13 which for a long time I did not understand fully. Speaking in tongues is something that happens under the power of the Holy Spirit and the speaker, unless God gives them the interpretation, does not know what they are speaking about. As you read the story in Acts, there are two miracles that took place. First, the Holy Spirit anointed those in the room and they spoke supernaturally in an unknown tongue. The second miracle was that the Holy Spirit gave those who heard them speaking, the interpretation. Some believe that the Holy Spirit gave them the interpretation supernaturally while others hold that the people actually spoke in the known tongue of those who were present, but not known to the speaker. Regardless of what you believe about the interpretation, the sign of speaking in tongues was genuine. Paul wrote in several letters about this sign, its importance to the believer and how it should not be abused. Before I leave this sign, I want to clarify one thing. As we saw with the seven brothers of Sceva, there are those who “speak in tongues” but it is not coming from the Holy Spirit. Some people do it to bring credit and recognition of holiness to themselves. As with all things, this is not something to be taken lightly. For now understand that it is one of the signs that will follow believers.
IV. “They Shall Take Up Serpent and If They drink Any Deadly Thing
It Shall Not Hurt Them”
I know some of you may think this is going to sound really strange, but there are Churches out there who actually handle snakes and drink poison as part of their worship service. Their beliefs are that if you have the faith, then you should be able to do this. They are misinterpreting what Jesus said. What Jesus was telling them was in the role of their responsibility to go into all lands to win souls, they would be protected. Snakes were very dangerous back then because they were everywhere. They did not have paved highways and sidewalks to walk on while they were traveling which kept snakes hidden. They had to walk on terrain that was infested with snakes and scorpions, some of which were very poisonous. These snakes caused great fear among the people of those days. When Jesus made this statement, He was letting them know that they did not have to fear these things as they went on the roads to share the Gospel. Acts 28:3-6 records the incident with the Apostle Paul when he was bitten by a deadly viper. He shook the snake off his hands and kept on doing what he was doing. The natives of the land watched his to see when he would die and called him a god when Paul showed no ill from the snake bite.
Another fear of the people was eating and drinking anything that came from foreign lands. When the early disciples began to travel the world to share the gospel, they went into many areas that were foreign to them. When they were accepted into the homes of their guests, they had to eat what was put before them, which could be difficult at best. I had an experience of this nature when I was in Japan. Our guests took us to a Japanese restaurant where the food was already ordered for us. They served a lot of things I could not recognize. There was one thing that I did recognize and I just could not let that go into my mouth. Had I been on a mission to share the Gospel, I could have eaten it by faith knowing that it would not hurt me – but I was not there sharing the Gospel. My point is that this was a promise that was made to those who went out sharing the Gospel and is still a promise enforced today. Jesus did not mean for us to take up snakes and drink poison as a part of our worship to prove that we have faith.
V. They Shall Lay Hands on the Sick, And They Shall Recover
A couple of weeks ago during bible study we had a discussion on praying for the sick. In that discussion the question was asked if “being healed meant completely”. My response at the time was that it was my opinion that it did. This morning I want to share some additional information with according to what Jesus said that lets me know that the healing does not always come immediately and that there are “different” stages of the process so my response during bible study was not totally accurate. The word “sick” in this verse means someone who has a devastating illness; someone in bad health or having a broken condition. It carries the image of a person so weak and sick that they have become critically ill. These were not people who were just feeling bad on a particular day, someone with a headache or a cold. These were people who were very sick. This is the category of people that Jesus was referring to in this verse.
Jesus gave us the example when He laid hands on the sick. But in the verse above, He says that shall “recover”. The recovery could be instantaneous or it could be a process that is prolonged over a period of time. The phrase that Jesus used “They shall” in the Greek means something that occurs progressively. Also, one other point, the Greek word for healed means to be well, healthy, and/or in good shape. It does not always mean instantaneous and/or miraculous deliverance. So the verse above could be translated, “…they shall progressively feel themselves getting better and better until they are well and healthy.” Not all healings are instantaneous, some take time. The point is, as Christians we are to actively pray for the sick, those who are very ill. You can still pray for those with little problems, but our focus should be those who are very ill with little chance of recovery. Although we do not always know or understand the outcome, we are to pray nonetheless.
Jesus said that these signs would “follow” those that believe. First you must believe in and accept Christ. Once you have done this, you must believe that these signs will follow you. The Greek word for follow is made up of two words. The first word means to be alongside of or to be near. The second word to follow or go somewhere with a person. When combined it means to “tirelessly accompany someone; to constantly be at the side of an individual”. This Greek word eventually came to convey the idea of discipleship for a true disciple follows his teacher anywhere he goes and is committed to his teacher’s instruction. What Jesus was saying is that signs and wonders are to faithfully follow us and the Gospel message. So why do we not see more of these signs? For all of our goodness, for all of our holiness, in this area we really do not believe. In order for people to see God in you, especially pertaining to supernatural signs, you must believe that these signs will follow along side of you wherever you go.
But are supernatural signs the “primary” way that people see God in us? I will answer this question next week with the conclusion of this series. God Bless.
