Acts Today

Before Jesus left the earth, he gave the command to his disciples to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”  (Mark 16:15-18)  Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied.  (v. 20)

When did that command end?  When did the signs stop?

The book of Acts in the Bible documents the first 33 years of church history.  The entire church, not just the apostles, "preached the word wherever they went." (Acts 8:4)  The early church prayed fervently, saw angels, had visions, witnessed mighty signs and wonders, drove out demons, and healed the sick.  If the Bible were still being written, what would it say about the church today? Would we still be able to document signs and wonders?

In the first chapter of Acts, the promised Holy Spirit came upon the assembled believers to give them power.  That power allowed the followers of Christ to continue the work that had started with the ministry of Jesus and he left to the disciples.  Time and again, we read that the Holy Spirit spoke, they were led by the spirit, the spirit gave them utterance.

We are the same church and we still have the same Holy Spirit. Since Scripture never suggests that the supernatural signs were restricted to 33 years, surely Jesus intended that they were to continue in the church until He returns.

Acts is not just a history book of the early church, but should be a handbook for the Christian life and the Spirit-filled church.  We should desire and expect as the norm all the elements that were present in the first century church.

That's why I am expecting a miracle.  I believe that we can still operate in the same power and authority to see the same kinds of works that were seen by the early disciples.  If we can't--why not?

GREAT Faith

What is this great faith that will move mountains, cause miracles and healings, and accomplish great things  for God?  It is my desire to find this kind of faith.

At least twice in the Bible, Jesus complimented someone for having great faith.  In Mathew Chapter 8 a centurion was lauded as having "great faith" when he said to Jesus that he didn't have to come to his house to heal his servant but to speak the word only and the servant would be healed.

Again, he spoke of the great faith of the Canaanite woman in Matthew Chapter 15 when she requested that he cast a demon out of her daughter.  Jesus tried to send her away saying, " I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.  It is not right to take  the children's bread and toss it to the dogs."  She was persistent and said, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from  the masters' table."  Jesus replied, "Woman, you have great faith, your request is granted."

What did these two people have that we do not have?

Jesus also commented about the lack of  faith on several occasions, including when he told the disciples the reason they could not cast the spirit out of a boy was because of their unbelief.  What?  The disciples had unbelief?  They had been going about healing the sick and casting out devils--now suddenly they have unbelief?  What happened to  their faith?

Evidently we can have faith for some things, but not for others.  I mean, didn't we have faith for our salvation?  That was a really big miracle, but in most cases, I would say it was not hard to believe for it.  (Unless you were really, really bad.)  We believed in our heart and confessed with our mouth, and  - boom - we were saved.  Now, I know that Satan came along and tried to talk us out of it, but we stuck to our guns and believed it anyway.  Why can't believing for a miracle be that easy?  Maybe because we can't see our soul and it's dirty condition, so we don't have the evidence staring us in the face.  When we are trying to believe for healing, for example, we have the symptoms to deal with.  It's hard to believe that you are healed when you are still  hurting.

Jesus told the man who came to  him with his son that "nothing is impossible to him who believes."  We know that he does not mean anything our heart desires--it must be based on  God's will.  So, obviously, first of all, we have to be confident that we know what God's will is.

My Life in the Spirit Study Bible says that true faith is a work of God within our hearts.  It involves an awareness divinely imparted to our hearts that our prayers are answered. The Holy Spirit creates it within us; we cannot produce it in our own minds. Since true faith is a gift imparted to us by Christ, it is important to draw near to Christ and his Word  and to deepen our commitment to, and confidence in, him.  (note for Matthew 17:20)

When God speaks to our hearts and makes his will known to  us in a certain situation (revelation), we can have faith for that particular thing.  Like Peter did when he walked on water.  Jesus spoke to him and said, "Come."  When Jesus tells you to do something, he will give you the ability to do it.  If Peter had tried to walk on water without that word from Jesus, he wouldn't have gotten as far as he did.

What I need is that God-given faith that would enable me to face a mountain of impossibility and see it move by God's power. In order to receive that God-given faith, I have to hear God speak.  In order to hear God speak, I have to maintain a life of prayer and intimacy with God along with obedience to his word.  That will lead to great faith and spiritual authority to see mountains moved and miracles take place.

I am confident that God's revelation will activate God's faith in me in order for a miracle to occur.