Grow Your Faith, Declare His Name!
Do you believe God calls us to cast out demons? To speak with new tongues? To stretch and grow our faith? To pray and lay hands on those who are sick? Now, where in the Bible did it say so? Today, in Mark 16:15-19, we explore these verses, hopefully at the end, you receive the encouragement to exercise what’s been given to you by God’s authority.
Mark 16:15-19 says:
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
He who has believed and got baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will go with those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. Jesus left these words to His disciples before He ascended to Heaven.
Holy Spirit Did not Change. So, What Changed?
I believe these words spoken were not for the disciples of Jesus only, rather for those who believe, including us. The Holy Spirit sent to the disciples in the early church, is the same Holy Spirit we know today. The power of the Holy Spirit has not changed. So, what changed?
I believe it’s our unbelief as well as our fear. It’s what we taught to believe when
healing did not take place, when people we prayed for died. When speaking in tongues never take root and when we are too fearful to cast out demons. As a result, we give all the reasons we can to explain why we failed, instead of seeking God, to press in until God says: ‘It is done!’
It is God’s will to live above our disbelieve, as well as our fear and to stop giving reasons to why things are not happening the way they should. It is God’s will to live showing the power of the Holy Spirit in us by the signs that go with our lives. What are the signs?
they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.
Now in whose authority or name are we given to do all these? In the name of Jesus! The power of the name of Jesus. That is why the Bible says: ‘He who is in you, is greater than he who is in the world.’ So, we need to constantly remember the demons are afraid of Jesus. Meanwhile any time you call on Jesus’ name and demons flee. The Holy Spirit is often forgotten and brushed aside. It is important that we understand who He is and why He’s given to us.
Let me share another passage to urge you. In James 5:15-17,
‘and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can do much.’
Disciples of Jesus, we need to live out our faith. We need to exercise and grow our faith in Christ Jesus. If we continue to hide the power of the Holy Spirit in us, we bring dishonor to His name. As you see, God has never called us to live in fear, in disbelief, in disobedience. This is time and this is the season to rise up and live out the power that is already in you.
To those who seek to know who Jesus is and to those who are unsure if you got saved. These are the words for you. He who has believed and got baptised shall be saved.
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