Signs Of The Believer Part One

Signs of the Believer

Foundational: Mar 16:17-18 KJV And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; (18) 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.

Into: Just moments before Jesus ascended to the Father, He told the disciples, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; (18) 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.” Now, according to Jesus, these supernatural signs are supposed to follow those who believe. Since you and I believe, that means these signs are supposed to follow you and me! We are going to take the next four to five weeks to reveal this supernatural list to see just precisely what Jesus said to us. Give supernatural testimony.

I. Signs?

A. Comes from semeion, which described the official written notice that announced the final verdict of a court. It also described the signature or seal applied to a document to guarantee its authenticity,

and a sign that marked key locations in a city.

1. Jesus was sending His disciples into the world to preach the gospel. As He sent them forth, He said that God’s signature would be upon their ministry. These signs were to be the signature of God, the official declaration that they were sent by Heaven and that the Gospel message was true.

2. For the unbelievers, these signs would authenticate the fact that this was no manmade message, but a message straight from God Himself. And just as street signs point a traveler in the right direction, these signs would point unbelievers to the Lord if he would only heed to them.

B. What Signs?

1. They will cast out devils.

2. They will speak with new tongues

3. They will take up serpents.

4. If they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them.

5. They will lay hands on the sick, and the sick will recover.

C. Shall Follow

1. Greek word parakoloutheo, from the words para and akoloutheo.

a. para means alongside, as to be near or in a close proximity.

b. Akoloutheo means to follow or to go somewhere with a person, as to accompany him on a trip.

2. When the word para and akoloutheo are joined to form one word as in this verse, it means to tirelessly accompany someone; to constantly be at the side of and individual; to always be in close proximity with a person, like a faithful companion who is always at one’s side. Because the word has such a strong sense of following someone, it eventually came to convey the idea of discipleship. A true disciple faithfully follows his teacher anywhere he goes and is committed to his teacher’s instruction.

3. The picture of commitment to another person – of someone’s faithfulness to follow and his determination to never be out of step with his leader – is very significant in the context of this verse. It tells us that signs and wonders are to faithfully follow us and the Gospel message. These signs and wonders are continually to be in step with us and with the message we preach. To preach without these miraculous signs should seem very strange to us, for God intended these signs to persistently follow us and the message anywhere and everywhere we go.

D. Purpose?

1. These signs are God’s signature that the message is true. Hence, every time the Gospel is preached – whether at church, on the mission field, in a large crusade, in the bus or subway, at your job, or at the grocery store – you should expect these supernatural signs to be present in some form.

2. These signs should accompany you everywhere you go because they are a part of your spiritual equipment, faithful partners of the Gospel message!

II. Why Aren’t We Seeing More Signs Following Christians?

Statement: The answer, and the reason for these next upcoming weeks of teaching is found in the Words of the Master.

Mar 16:17 KJV “And these signs shall follow them that believe;”

A. I want to draw you attention to the word believe.

1. The tense of this word would be better translated, “These signs shall follow them that are constantly believing…” In other word, these signs don’t come automatically just because a person once walked the aisle and gave their heart to Jesus. No, these signs follow those who are constantly believing for them to occur.

2. If a Christian isn’t constantly believing for these signs to be manifested or expecting them to follow him, they probably won’t. Like everything in the Kingdom of God, signs and wonders are activated by faith.