THE COMFORTER – PART 6 POWER TO PERFORM SIGNS, WONDERS, AND MIRACLES
From The HeartPublish date: 06/25/2000
How God anointed Jesus of
This is a very important Bible verse. It tells us that the oppression of sin, sickness, disease and torment originate with the devil. He is the author and the perpetuator of all that is bad in the earth and in our lives – not God! This verse says that God was WITH Jesus. He ANOINTED Jesus with the HOLY GHOST and with POWER so that He could do GOOD and heal ALL who were oppressed by the devil. God is the author of all that is good. Healing and deliverance are GOOD! Healing and deliverance bring glory to God!
Jesus was the Son of God, born into the world in human form. He was sent to the earth for a specific purpose – to cut an everlasting, unbreakable covenant between God and man. He was the mediator between God and man - the bridge that allowed man to stand once more in the presence of Almighty God without sin and without fear of judgement. Jesus, as a man, grew up like other men. He spent thirty years studying the Word of God and submitting His life to that Word. He never once performed any miracles before the day that John baptized Him in water and God baptized Him in the Holy Ghost.
After He was baptized in the Holy Ghost, He began to preach the Word of God and to perform signs, wonders and miracles. He did not do these things because He was the Son of God. He did them firstly because He was meeting people's needs and demonstrating the love of God to them and showing them what was available to them if they would keep covenant with God. He came to undo the destruction that the devil had wrought on the earth after the fall of man. Secondly, He was demonstrating to us the power and authority that WE can walk in when WE are baptized in the Holy Ghost.
And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. "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." So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. Mark 16:15-20 NKJ
We are baptized in the Holy Ghost for a purpose – so that we can do the same thing that Jesus did – bring glory to God by delivering all those who are oppressed by the devil, sickness and sin! We are to preach the Gospel, baptizing all those, who receive God's word, in water and the Holy Ghost. We are to cast out demons, speak with new tongues, operate in the gifts of the Spirit, lay hands on the sick and they will recover. Even accidents involving snakebites and any other poison will not be able to destroy our lives if we believe. (We should not tempt God by deliberately allowing ourselves to be poisoned or we will most likely find ourselves in heaven before our time!)
There are people today who say that only the disciples and apostles did signs and wonders and that it has all passed away now. They do that to explain the lack of power in their lives and the fact that they themselves are not baptized in the Holy Ghost or speaking in tongues! They say that they have the Holy Ghost, but I think maybe that they have as much of the Holy Ghost as some people who have a cup of water poured on them when they are "water baptized." You can't have a just a little sprinkle – you need to get dunked – YOU NEED TO BE SOAKED AND SATURATED IN HOLY GHOST POWER! The Holy Ghost is a free gift. Why would you refuse a free gift. "No thank you. I already have enough." We can NEVER have enough of God. We need all we can get!
Some people even credit the devil with healing people. But the last time I checked, God is still our healer and the Bible still says that that God is the SAME yesterday, today and forever! Jesus told His disciples to preach the Gospel AND perform miracles. According to Acts 6:7, as more and more people were added to the church, the number of disciples increased greatly. God did not put a limitation on who could be a disciple, neither was it just for a certain time period. Every one of us who commits to God and submits to His word is a disciple. If signs and wonders followed the original disciples as they preached the word then if we are disciples today, signs and wonders should follow us as we preach the word.
Jesus spoke personally to His disciples and to the people who lived at that time in