The Power of God Accompanying the Spread of the Gospel: Mark 16:15-20
“15) And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16) He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. 17) These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18) 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.” 19) So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20) And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed. Mark 16:15-20
The gospel of Mark closes with a Great Commission. Jesus promised that those who believed in Him would do signs and wonders in His Name.
This corresponds with the promise made in Acts 1:4-8. A new age was about to begin based on the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Let me quote a few verses from Acts chapter one; ““7) He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8) but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
And so it happened. The book of Acts confirms that all the signs and wonders of Mark 15:15-18 and many more accompanied the believers after Pentecost. Signs and wonders and amazing miracles accompanied the spread of the Gospel.
In Acts 4:29-31, the persecuted church leaders prayed for a fresh outpouring of signs and wonders through the name of Jesus. And so it happened to an even a greater extent. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness and God showed up in powerful ways.
Hebrews 2:4 says; “God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.” I call this the “Divine Apologetic.” God wants confirms our witness with signs that follow.
In 1 Corinthians 2:1-4, Paul pointed out that the gospel he preached included the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit. He didn’t want the gospel to be mere empty words. He wanted the faith of new believers to be rooted in the power of God.
The same can be seen in the church at Thessalonica. 1 Thessalonians 1:5 says; “for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.” The preaching of the gospel was accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit.
A quick comparison with Galatians 3:1-5 concludes that the power of the Holy Spirit also accompanied the spread of the Gospel in the Galatia region. This was intended to build faith and separate Christianity from mere religion.
When I started studying the words “power” and “signs and wonders” through the Bible, my eyes were opened. I was confronted with a tragic void in my life and in many segments of the modern church. Something was wrong! Something was missing!
The Bible traced it back to a lack of biblical knowledge and a rejection of the power of God. In Matthew 22:29, Jesus told the Sadducees; “29) “… You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God.” That basically exposed my problem and the problem with many segments of the modern church.
I started seeking the Holy Spirit with a hungry passion. The problem needed to be fixed. I didn’t want to become a powerless Sadducee or Pharisee. I became increasingly disillusioned with empty religion and “church as usual.”
The Holy Spirit has more than filled the void in my life and ministry. I now have great faith in the promise of God related to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I expect powerful signs and wonders to accompany the spread of the gospel. I can now tell many stories of the mighty works of God.
Don’t put God in a box. Instead, ask Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit and grow your faith. Then buckle your seat belt.
Extraordinary things will start happening in your life. You will start living on a different level. Ephesians 1:15-23; 3:14-21; Colossians 1:9-15 and 2 Peter 1:2-4 will start unfolding in your life. Shortly the Bible will come alive and you will start experiencing the power of God. The Holy Spirit will also start washing, sanctifying and changing you. Be ready for radical changes in your life.
But notice, in Mark 16, Jesus promised that these signs would accompany the spread of the gospel. That means if you want to experience the power of God, you must actively engage in the Great Commission. Start sharing the gospel!
Get out of your comfort chair and show up on the front lines. Become His conduit to reach a lost and dying world. God doesn’t waste His power on carnal Christians who are indulging in the pleasures of the world.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
“15) And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16) He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. 17) These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18) 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.” 19) So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20) And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed. Mark 16:15-20
The gospel of Mark closes with a Great Commission. Jesus promised that those who believed in Him would do signs and wonders in His Name.
This corresponds with the promise made in Acts 1:4-8. A new age was about to begin based on the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Let me quote a few verses from Acts chapter one; ““7) He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8) but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
And so it happened. The book of Acts confirms that all the signs and wonders of Mark 15:15-18 and many more accompanied the believers after Pentecost. Signs and wonders and amazing miracles accompanied the spread of the Gospel.
In Acts 4:29-31, the persecuted church leaders prayed for a fresh outpouring of signs and wonders through the name of Jesus. And so it happened to an even a greater extent. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness and God showed up in powerful ways.
Hebrews 2:4 says; “God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.” I call this the “Divine Apologetic.” God wants confirms our witness with signs that follow.
In 1 Corinthians 2:1-4, Paul pointed out that the gospel he preached included the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit. He didn’t want the gospel to be mere empty words. He wanted the faith of new believers to be rooted in the power of God.
The same can be seen in the church at Thessalonica. 1 Thessalonians 1:5 says; “for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.” The preaching of the gospel was accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit.
A quick comparison with Galatians 3:1-5 concludes that the power of the Holy Spirit also accompanied the spread of the Gospel in the Galatia region. This was intended to build faith and separate Christianity from mere religion.
When I started studying the words “power” and “signs and wonders” through the Bible, my eyes were opened. I was confronted with a tragic void in my life and in many segments of the modern church. Something was wrong! Something was missing!
The Bible traced it back to a lack of biblical knowledge and a rejection of the power of God. In Matthew 22:29, Jesus told the Sadducees; “29) “… You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God.” That basically exposed my problem and the problem with many segments of the modern church.
I started seeking the Holy Spirit with a hungry passion. The problem needed to be fixed. I didn’t want to become a powerless Sadducee or Pharisee. I became increasingly disillusioned with empty religion and “church as usual.”
The Holy Spirit has more than filled the void in my life and ministry. I now have great faith in the promise of God related to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I expect powerful signs and wonders to accompany the spread of the gospel. I can now tell many stories of the mighty works of God.
Don’t put God in a box. Instead, ask Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit and grow your faith. Then buckle your seat belt.
Extraordinary things will start happening in your life. You will start living on a different level. Ephesians 1:15-23; 3:14-21; Colossians 1:9-15 and 2 Peter 1:2-4 will start unfolding in your life. Shortly the Bible will come alive and you will start experiencing the power of God. The Holy Spirit will also start washing, sanctifying and changing you. Be ready for radical changes in your life.
But notice, in Mark 16, Jesus promised that these signs would accompany the spread of the gospel. That means if you want to experience the power of God, you must actively engage in the Great Commission. Start sharing the gospel!
Get out of your comfort chair and show up on the front lines. Become His conduit to reach a lost and dying world. God doesn’t waste His power on carnal Christians who are indulging in the pleasures of the world.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
