SIGNS YOU DON’T FOLLOW

Tuesday 22 October

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.”

Mark 16:17-18 (NKJV)

And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. Mark 16:20 (KJV)

When you’re looking to be directed somewhere normally you would follow the signs. The airport sign is a perfect example of this. When your G.P.S. suddenly glitches at the critical moment and you are not sure whether you are on the right road, the comforting sight of the airport sign soon puts your mind at ease. What do you do? Follow the signs.

When it comes to spiritual signs however it is the complete opposite. The signs are meant to be following you. The Jews asked Jesus for sign and all He gave them was the sign of Jonah and likened Jonah being in the belly of the whale for three days to Himself being in the belly of the earth. He didn’t seem too pleased with the request (Matthew 12:39-40).

It’s the same today. We are not to be chasing after or following signs. The word sign is the same Greek word ‘semeion’ and it means a token or mark, miracle ,wonder. Acts 4:29-30 is where we get the terminology ‘signs and wonders from’. Remember Jesus Himself performed many signs and wonders. He was not saying not to have them as a mark or token of your ministry; He was saying that it should be the by product and not the focus of your ministry.

Hebrews 12:2 tells us to ‘look away’ from what distracts us and start ‘looking to Jesus.’ This begs the question. How do we practically do that? The answer is simple. By looking to His word. When Jesus said ‘These signs will follow them that believe’ another question arises. Believe what? Believe the gospel of Jesus Christ; His death burial, and resurrection according to 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.

So we believe in His gospel and in that position we look to His word. His thoughts, ideas, opinions, character etc are revealed in the message of Christ in the scriptures and the revelation of Christ in the epistles. We have been trained to follow signs or walk by sensory perceptions and not by the word. To change this we need to renew or reprogram our mind think according to what God has said in His word and not what we may think or feel.

Some Christians believe that signs and wonders were only a part of the early church and only done by the Apostles. They claim that they have ceased and cite 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 as their proof because ‘prophecies will cease’ ‘tongues will be stilled’ and ‘knowledge will pass away’. They use the phrase ‘when that which is perfect is come that which is in part disappears.’ This will take place in the future. It certainly has not happened yet. There is no doctrinal foundation that supports it has ever occurred to date.

To those who don’t believe in signs and wonders, don’t worry about it because it won’t happen to you or through you. To those who do believe, let’s make the preaching and teaching of the Word of His grace our priority and thank the Lord for what He does supernaturally when He ‘works with us.’ All glory belongs to Him and amazingly, He shares it with us!

APPLICATION

Have a consciousness that signs and wonders will follow you when you are preaching the gospel of grace to those in your world.