Alrighty, so we're going to talk about signs and wonders today, signs and wonders.
We've been on this topic called teleos. Teleos means that which has been brought
into completion. So we are looking at things in the Bible where what if we saw
the end picture and then began to work backwards from that? Because God says
that I show you the end from the beginning. So what if we looked at certain
things that God wants us to walk in but we see the full picture and then we
decide aha now that we've seen the end picture let's begin our journey towards
it so that a point will come where we are mature or where we are fully grown
in that which God is calling us to. So if you look at Acts 15 verse 17, Acts 15
verse 17 and we might stay on this next week also, Acts 15 verse 16 and 17.
This is when Paul meets the council in Jerusalem and James stands up and he
begins to draw from a prophetic word that was spoken by Amos where he said
that in the last days as in towards the end the tabernacle of David will be
restored so that the Gentiles may seek me and come to the obedience of faith.
Different versions put it differently but basically that is a picture that in
the last days as in a time is coming as in let me show you the end picture and
this was spoken 2,000 years ago and it was spoken 3,000 years ago when Amos
first spoke it and so James reiterates it and so he's giving us the end picture
saying listen one of the things that's going to happen is the tabernacle of
David is going to be restored and when it is restored the Gentiles will seek me
and they will come into obedience to the faith and then if you go to Romans
chapter 15 verse 18 and 19 we see again one of the ways that the Gentiles come
to faith as in those that do not believe in Jesus Christ yet who do not know
about him one of the ways they come to faith is mentioned in Romans chapter 15
verse 18 and 19 and that's where we'll be stuck for the rest of the day. Romans
15 verse 18 and 19 so here's what it says I will not venture to speak of
anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the
Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done by the power of signs and
miracles through the power of the Spirit so that from Jerusalem all the way around
to Illyricum sounds like like a gourmet coffee machine I have fully
proclaimed the gospel of Christ let me read that again I will not venture to
speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the
Gentiles to obey God but by what I have said and done by the power of signs and
miracles or signs and wonders through the power of the Spirit so that from
Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the
gospel of Christ so if we were to look at that then this is how it pans out
that the the initiator or the agent of signs and wonders or the works is Christ
the purpose is that the Gentiles come to faith the means is words and works signs
and wonder by the power of the Spirit the result from Jerusalem to the ends of
the earth or to whatever your borders are let's put Illyricum for now the
gospel of Christ is fulfilled Christians either overemphasize signs and wonders
and that becomes a major and everything else becomes minor or they de-emphasize
signs and wonders so it becomes so minor that the gospel and its witness and its
validation remains incomplete and we can't be neither we have to approach it
the way Christ approached it the church approached it people in the Bible
approached it and so here's something we need to understand that first when it
comes to look at verse 18 again I will not venture to speak of anything except
what Christ has accomplished through me so when it comes to what Christ wants to
accomplish through this church or through anybody who's hearing or through
anybody who's listening right now when it comes to Christ wanting to accomplish
what he wants to accomplish then know that the initiator or agent for what
needs to be accomplished is Christ the purpose is that the Gentiles come to
faith but here's the thing I want to concentrate on today that the means is
words and works signs and wonders and the power of the spirit my hope is that
when we leave today this church will never doubt that signs and wonders is
part of our natural expression as a church any questions
we look at far more scriptures but the thing is guys even for a church like us
signs and wonders are not natural we don't think that signs and wonders should
happen through us every day we don't think like that and I want to show you
through the word that it is what should be expected it is what should be
expected and it has to be shown through scripture it cannot be anecdotal
evidence and it cannot be done through an apostle or a prophet sure these are
signs that accompany an apostle or a prophet but it cannot be limited to that
it has to be a body responding this way any questions meaning me telling you
something that this is the way it should be and giving you an example from my
life or someone else's life doesn't cut it the scripture should prove that this
is what should be a natural experience yeah sorry who is the culprit oh this
is a family thing eh shouldn't she be at work or something guys whenever Paul
says stuff like so that the gospel be fulfilled and that it spread throughout
the area what he always means is that he has proclaimed it widely enough and
planted it firmly enough for it to progress whenever whenever Paul says I've
got no more work left to do in this area whenever he says I've fully accomplished
the spreading of the gospel in this area he doesn't mean that everybody has heard
it what he's saying is I have proclaimed it strong enough so that it is now
planted firmly and progression is the natural outcome and it cannot be stopped
that's what he means I remember that when it comes to Wally when it comes to
the things we do when we say that we should do something in Wally it is that
by the end of 2022 there should be a seed planted in Wally so deep that it
cannot be stopped from growing that's how God accomplishes the thing he wants
to otherwise you'll have to set targets like 2000 churches by 2020 and you
usually find that in 2019 you're still thousand short and then you begin to
panic or you have to revise your target Paul used to plant the seed so deep that
it would continue so let's define this idea of signs and wonders let's define
signs and wonders CS Lewis defined signs and wonders as an interference with
nature by a supernatural power and interference with nature or an
interference in the natural or an interference with nature by a
supernatural power in his stories and in what he wrote this was his definition
that signs and wonders is an interference in nature by or with the
supernatural power one of the things we need to realize is that if we use that
definition then supernatural powers can be powers other than God and that
miracles are not limited to Jesus Christ
signs and wonders are not limited to Christianity or Christ I've seen signs
and wonders performed by witch doctors by powerful sorcerers it's very common
so let's not go with CS Lewis's definition there's another definition by
a guy called Grudem he says a less common this is how he defined signs and
wonders a less common way of God's working a less common way of God's
working in which he arouses awe and wonder in people in which he arouses awe
and wonder in people and bears witness oh I forgot I'll change the pen later
and bears witness to himself this definition makes more sense signs and
wonders is a less common way of God's working as in God is continuously active
in everything right now you're hearing my voice because he's active or he's
established a principle that allows some waves to carry so God is continuously
working but a miracle is a less common way of God's working in which he arouses
awe and wonder in the hearts of people and in the process he bears witness to
himself this is what signs and wonders look like I want to keep re-emphasizing
that this must be a natural experience for us as a church not so much for
ourselves but for the world so that God can through us bear witness to himself
is the Bible full of this yes Exodus how many how many signs and wonders happen
in Exodus man where do you want to start you want to start with the burning bush
you want to go to the plagues that hit Egypt you want to see what happened to
the serpents that the sorcerers created and how Moses's staff swallowed them all
you want to see the Red Sea where do you want to go for signs and wonders and
that's in the Old Testament where God lived outside a stiff neck people and
now he lives inside a soft neck people signs and wonders is so common in the
that you cannot turn more than five pages without coming across one and if
you name yourself acts 29 sure it
Joshua signs and wonders think of Jericho think of the Sun standing still Elijah
where should I start I mean what it sometimes God would take the natural
and make it supernatural other times he'd send a raven other times he'd
multiply food other times he'd raise the dead other times he would go up on Mount
Carmel and he would call down fire these are all old covenant people guys
Elisha all that I said Elijah about Elijah double that make people dip seven
times in a river and they come out clean he seemed to have this thing for water
throw an axe into the water it come up straight up poison in the stew no
problem throw in some more flour utter I mean it's crazy what Elijah did signs
and wonders followed that man want to pick Jesus walked on water raised the
dead one of the things that I'd love to see was the withered hand a man with a
withered hand and it shoots out and it becomes normal or go fish Jacob and
you'll pay your taxes or Peter just put your net on the other side and it'll be
full of fish hundred and fifty three that nobody can pull out Peter how do
shackles fall off your hand how the doors that are barred shut swing open
how do you walk out in the middle of the night from the from a very secure prison
how do you walk on water how do you go lie down on someone and the person rises
to life as an Elijah did how does he go and bring Dorcas back to life how does
he go to this place where a man has been paralyzed for eight years called Aeneas
and he brings him back to normalcy how does he look at someone and see faith in
them and say silver and gold I have none but stand up and rise where are these
signs and wonders your response should be here here here yeah we should try it
later more spontaneously Paul my lord the guy was full of signs and wonders and
that's why he writes this look at what he's writing that listen guys I have
accomplished everything that Christ wanted to and Christ did it through me
and I want you to know that this was accomplished so that the Gentiles may
obey God and how did I do this I did this through what I said and what I did
by the power of signs and wonders through the power of the Spirit so that
from Jerusalem all the way around to Illricum I have fully proclaimed the
gospel of Christ it's impossible to do what God has asked us to do if you
sanitize or sterilize God in this area any questions guys one of the things
you've got to get rid out of your head a is just because you are suffering a
problem doesn't mean God cannot use it to create real peace in other situations
don't look at your neckache and decide that God doesn't do wonders God only
knows how many neckaches Moses had but that didn't stop him
Elisha was sick he died they threw him into a grave but before they could bury
him a raiders came along and they tossed one of their bodies that they were
carrying into the grave and the man came back alive look at look at signs and
wonders happening after the person died Elisha wasn't even alive but he saw a
sign and wonder he did not see it others saw it your ache or pain does not
prevent God from doing signs and wonders through you on a regular basis there
must be an expectation and my hope is that by the power of the Spirit of God
this church will begin to expect this as natural as you expect got to use you on
a daily basis in the streets that you walks fears of influence near strata
and segment of society go ahead
isn't desiring signs and wonders baby food yep Jesus said that an adulterous
generation desires signs and wonders so that has to be taken in the context of
Greeks requiring rational and Jews requiring a sign and so Jesus says only
an adulterous generation desires signs and wonders and no sign or wonder will
be given to them except this as when Jonah went into the belly of a fish and
came back in three days so the son of man shall die and rise again in three
days so that's one side of it and so you have to hold that separate and then
listen to everything else that Jesus said which I'll talk about when a people
begin to hunger after signs and wonders without the word when it is only works
or deeds and no word then there is a problem that is an adulterous generation
that wants to be pampered pacified just shown manifestations one after the other
and Jesus rightly called it wrong but then when you take the evidence that I'll
present to you of Jesus saying hey listen guys you can't do without this I
mean let me take you straight to one mark 16 was 18 to 20 and these signs
shall follow then that believe that says one scripture that is common knowledge
I'll give you scripture after scripture after scripture where the expectation is
hey Jacob how come you don't expect this from me if I am alive in you mark
as in mark Bergman mark send me a text I mean you had John's testimony isn't
that a sign and a wonder his dad thinks he's dead because he's heavy weight now
his mom sees a hand and the boy comes back to life but this can't happen once
in 24 years that's what I'm trying to say because we've rendered signs and
wonders so uncommon yes the definition is a less common not uncommon and the
only reason we say less common way of God's working is because God works every
day every time all the time in every person's life every sparrows life every
this was something that mark Bergman sent me and I thought I should read it
out to you signs and wonders are not limited to people in the Bible mark
wrote to me recently saying four years this was on Tuesday he suddenly wrote
saying four years ago we were in Mongolia thank you for inviting me there
I really miss sitting and talking with you I don't miss the weird salty cuddled
milk tea with meat in it which I can still smell and taste when I see the
picture and then he says I had forgotten the sidewalks I recall the steps I
recall the steps of your slippery shoes because of the ice then he calls out
these different things that happen in one evening I remember the little girl
whose lung was restored and the parents throughout the shaman trinkets the
little boy whose eyes were crooked and the family did not want to get rid of
the shaman stuff the woman who only cried and God showed you what was going
on in her life and you spoke God's forgiveness to her for her abortion and
I had forgotten these stories where this little kid has it I had his eyes
restored where this girl who had a lung problem had immediate relief and she
started running around the church but this woman who had an abortion and was
weeping throughout the service God only knew what she was weeping about and she
got healed immediately this was in less than five or six minutes signs and
wonders should not happen when you go on a mission trip shines and wonders should
happen on your on a regular basis this must be our expectation things are
created through expectation because expectation carries in it a degree of
faith and without that guys some things let me read this to you just read the
last few lines of her this is for someone here a your choice will have to
be a deliberate determination it is not something into which you will
listen to me again this is for someone here your choice will have to be a
deliberate determination it is not something into which you will
automatically drift let me read it a third time because it's important your
choice will have to be a deliberate determination it is not something into
which you will automatically drift just because you prayed it you're not going
to drift into it automatically you'll have to make a deliberate intentional
determination that you're going to go a certain way signs and wonders are God's
witness to his word signs and wonders are God's witness to his word signs and
wonders are God's witness to his word they don't replace the word they don't
subsume the word but they bear witness to his word case in point Matthew chapter
9 verse 6 and Jesus looks at the paralytic and he says to the man pick up
your son your sins are forgiven and people look at him and say how dare you
blaspheme who gives you the right to forgive sins and then Jesus says which
is easier to say your sins are forgiven or pick up your mat and walk obviously
your sins are forgiven but just so you know that I have both the right to
forgive sins and prove that what I have said is true I say to you man pick up
your mat and walk and the man gets up picks up his mat and walks signs give
evidence of validate the word of God they bear witness to the word they don't
replace the word they're not subsumed by the word they don't subsume the word as
in that they don't overpower the word and now we are only a science people no
when signs are present without the word being present suspected and so he
speaks the word your sins are forgiven but then he also comes up with a sign
that shows that the man sins are forgiven pick up your mat and walk I
would say to you and I'm not trying to browbeat you but I would say to you it
is important it would be it would be impossible for you when I'm done to
actually believe that signs and wonders don't happen or that it is not your cup
of tea or that it is not part of our life it you would have to deliberately
resist the word of God to walk that way today and I'm saying it not based on my
ability to convince you a persuasive speech just surely on the on the weight
of the word that I'm going to present today it must become a natural way of
it says the gospel is the power of God unto salvation
signs and wonders are not the power of God unto salvation it says the gospel is the
power of God unto salvation signs and wonders are not the power of God
unto salvation signs and wonders are not the power of God unto
I'm starting at verse 3, Hebrews chapter 2 verse 3.
How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?
This salvation which was first announced by the Lord was confirmed to us by those who
heard him.
God also testified to it by signs and wonders and various miracles and the gifts of the
Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Signs and wonders are not the power of God unto salvation but signs and wonders testify
to salvation.
Let me read that again.
Please follow me as I read so that you know I'm not pulling a fast one.
This salvation which was first announced by the Lord was confirmed to us by those who
heard him.
God also testified to this salvation by signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts
of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Our story of Jesus can't just be words eh.
Our story of Jesus cannot just be words but a demonstration of the Spirit's power.
A demonstration of the Spirit's power.
First Thessalonians 1.5.
I always go the wrong way when it comes to Thessalonians.
First Thessalonians 1.5.
Starting at verse 4.
For we know brothers loved by God that he has chosen you because our gospel came to
you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.
Listen to that again.
We know brothers loved by God that he has chosen you because our gospel came to you
not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.
You know how we lived among you for your sake.
It cannot be just words.
The story of God cannot be just words.
Anybody can tell that story of any God.
But there's something about our God that is different.
Go to 1 Corinthians 2.4.
1 Corinthians 2.4.
It's a well-known scripture.
1 Corinthians 2.4.
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words but with a demonstration
of the Spirit's power so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom but on God's
power.
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words but with a demonstration
of the Spirit's power so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom but on God's power.
You know what God does with signs and wonders?
God uses signs and wonders to shatter the shell of disinterest, to shatter the shell
of cynicism, to shatter the shell of false religion.
And instead, through signs and wonders, he begins to shift the focus back to the Gospel
and the glory of Christ.
Let me say that again.
Signs and wonders is used tremendously by God to shatter the shell of cynicism, to shatter
the shell of false religion, to shatter the shell of disinterest.
And then having done that, he uses signs and wonders to shift the focus onto the Gospel
and the glory of Christ, which alone can save.
If you look at Acts chapter 9, Acts chapter 9, Acts chapter 9, it's crazy what happens here.
Acts chapter 9 verse 32.
As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda.
There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years.
Aeneas, Peter said to him, Jesus Christ heals you.
I mean, no long prayer, Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you.
This is a guy who hasn't moved in eight years.
Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you.
And look what happens.
Get up and take care of your mat immediately.
And where does Peter learn this from?
He's seen Jesus do this.
He was there in Matthew chapter 9 when Jesus did this.
Hey, if we don't show it, how will Phoebe learn it?
How will Jocelyn learn it?
How will Aaron and Reni's baby learn it?
Someone's got to show, man.
And look what happens because of this miracle.
Immediately, Aeneas got up.
All, let's say Luke was exaggerating.
Maybe it was not all.
Maybe it was 90%.
All, those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
All.
You're talking about an entire two towns turned to God.
Let's not diminish the power of this, eh?
Guys, what has happened with us Christians is we do signs and wonders amongst Christians in conferences where Christians have been healed multiple times.
While what we're being asked is to see this as a normal part of life out there.
I don't need convincing that Jesus heals.
We are called to imitate and model and continue the ministry of Jesus.
Anyone doubt that?
We are called to imitate and model and continue the ministry of Jesus.
Is it possible without signs and wonders?
Your silence is deafening and it means, no, it's not possible.
It's not possible.
Peter makes two declarations.
One in Acts chapter 2, verse 22 and the other in that well-known scripture in Acts chapter 10, verse 38.
Two declarations he makes.
And if you were to combine them, this is what it would sound like.
That Jesus was a man anointed.
Jesus was a man anointed with the Holy Spirit.
I'm combining both scriptures.
Jesus was a man anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power.
Attested to you, attested to you by God, attested to you by God with miracles, wonders and signs.
With miracles, wonders and signs.
Attested to you means validated before you, endorsed before you, confirmed before you.
That here is a man who is anointed by God.
Attested to you by God with miracles, wonders and signs.
Which God performed through him.
Because God was with him.
And he went about and he went around doing good.
And healing those oppressed or harassed by the devil.
Imitate him, continue what he began, model him.
I'm combining Acts chapter 2, verse 22 and Acts 10, verse 38.
If you want to imitate him, model him and continue the work that he did here on earth, which is his expectation.
Then this is what it looks like.
That God anointed Jesus of Nazareth, the man anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power.
And he was attested to you by God with what?
With signs and wonders and miracles.
Which God performed through him.
Because God was with him.
And he went around doing good and setting free those that were oppressed by the enemy.
This is my call, this is your call, this is the church's call.
Challenge me on this guys, question me.
Drill holes in this.
Show me that this is biblically incorrect.
That this cannot be the expectation that God has of us.
And we're not even half done.
Any questions?
I can't hear you.
Can you hear me?
So if you are dealing with a non-believer and let's say this person is seen like you said,
people from other faiths do signs and wonders.
How do you sort of approach that situation and you know Jesus is different.
And that it's about, like if they're just not getting it's about Jesus, it's not about,
I mean it's the signs and wonders, but I'm just thinking of a very specific situation.
Yeah.
Yeah, so what happens when there are other faiths, other people that offer signs and wonders too?
And how do you then talk about signs and wonders and yet make sure that they understand that Jesus Christ is greater?
Usually anybody who has received signs and wonders from any other source,
one of the things that I find is that they've had to either wear something, give something, pledge something,
give money, do something that it was an exchange, it was never free.
That's the first thing I see with any other religion, any other faith.
What is given is never free.
Two, it is usually not directly between God and them.
They'll always have to be a middle person.
One of the things we need to remove from Christianity is people being brought to the pastor for help.
We need to remove a person as the one who has all the power to do it.
The church must begin to arise to this.
Very ordinary, normal people who give what God has, a benevolent God who gives freely,
who's paid the price, who has no greater joy than delivering people who know him and who don't know him.
I know many of you are new, so you haven't heard this story.
Many of you are old, and so you have heard this story, unfortunately.
But I was in a little town called Colchester, and a man walked into a full gospel businessman's meeting,
and he had fallen into a small canal ditch and twisted his knee, and it was swollen.
He comes into the full gospel businessman meeting because there's breakfast being served.
He comes in, and my friend, Roland Tan, was the one ministering that day, and he says,
is there anybody who needs healing?
This man comes up and says, I've got a bum knee.
Roland Tan prays for him, and in 20, 25 seconds, the knee heals.
Then Roland says to him, now that you have been healed, would you like to know the healer?
And he says, nope, the healing is enough, and the breakfast was good, and he walks out of there.
I'm looking at him thinking, what kind of God is this?
You think God didn't know that he would walk out?
God knew beforehand that this man would come, receive his healing, eat breakfast, and walk out of there
without any desire to know Jesus, and that didn't stop Jesus from healing the man.
There's this free thing that we give in signs and wonders that no other religion can give,
because any practitioner of any other power has to pay a price himself to give what he wants to give to you.
Jeevan and I sat in that room praying for a man who had so many charms and amulets on him
that he was pulling it out of places you don't want to touch charms.
And by the time we were done, there were about 13 charms lying, and I said, Jeevan, you take them.
But in the end, I mean, he pulled out 13 charms, but here's the other thing.
There's a deliberate reason why I'm bringing up this story.
Guys, whenever other people heal, there's always an element of fear connected to it.
Because Jesus Christ is the only one who does signs and wonders without any fear attached to it.
Every other religion that heals you always has an element of fear attached to it.
As in, if you now don't do this, Jesus is the only one who does it freely, man.
The reason the man was so hesitant to remove those charms from his body
was every part that he had been diseased, he had a charm fixed to it.
I'm talking about beads and crosses and the works.
And he was so scared to let go because he had been told, you let go of this, you die.
What we see here with Jesus is that one, his miracles pointed first to the rescuing power of God,
two, he was able to save his family, to save his people, to save his family from death.
He was able to save his people from death.
And we all know that Jesus was able to do everything.
His miracles pointed first to the rescuing power of God.
Two, signs and wonders validated the presence of the Spirit over him.
Three, it attested him as someone who had divine origin and that his ministry was a God ministry.
Four, that he used signs and wonders to destroy the works of the devil.
Five, that he induced faith in people through signs and wonders.
Let me repeat that again. If you take Acts 2 22 and Acts 10 38 and join them together,
what you find is that signs and wonders were used by Jesus.
Please remember one thing and this always blows my mind.
Jesus was as helpless as you and me when it came to doing signs and wonders because he did them by the Spirit of God.
No, no, no, no, that's not true. Jesus was the Son of God.
Well then, help explain to me Acts 10 38 that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
and that he was attested to us through signs and wonders and miracles
that God performed through him because God was with him.
We must understand his helplessness, the limits that were put on Christ as a human being.
The Jesus of Nazareth was limited. He had to depend on the Holy Spirit.
Our problem won't even be here, which God performed through him.
Our problem maybe is God with me. I might suggest to you that if you're born again, he is with you.
This is no way around this. Wrap your mind around this. There's no other choice.
You can either resist the word or you can begin to receive it so that it changes your mind.
There's no gray area here.
Unless you're a cessationist who believes that all the gifts are seized, in which case you're in the wrong church.
It's time to wear big boy pants.
Time to wear big boy pants.
Sorry. Okay.
Okay, the other thing. Yeah. So when it came to signs and wonders,
Jesus had these signs and wonders happening in his life so that they could point to the rescuing power of God.
Like that first story I talked about, Matthew 9.25, your sins are forgiven, which is easier to say.
Signs and wonders would point to the rescuing power of God.
Two, signs and wonders would make evident the presence of the Spirit.
Because the Jews knew, Israel knew that these things were impossible without the power of the Spirit.
Signs and wonders make real the presence of the Spirit.
Three, signs and wonders validate your divine origin and ministry.
What? My divine origin? First Peter 2, verse 23.
You are not of mortal sperm. You were born of immortal seed.
Signs and wonders validate your divine origin and your ministry.
As in, hey, I'm a Christian. I belong to Christ. He lives in me. I'm different.
Four, signs and wonders destroy satanic works. Destroy satanic works.
Five, signs and wonders induce people to faith.
It's not the power of God unto salvation, but it induces faith for sure.
I love what it says in Acts chapter 1, verse 8.
You should go to Jerusalem and wait. Wait for what?
Wait for the Holy Spirit and power so that you can witness.
So, should there be an expectation of signs and wonders in our life? What's the proof for that?
Should there be an expectation of signs and wonders in our life?
Not once in a blue moon? On a...
I know this is frightening to say because it's not our experience, but that does not annul what I'm going to say.
Should there be an expectation that God will do uncommon things through me that will leave people in awe and wonder and the acts that I do will bear witness to him?
Should I have an expectation of that happening through me on a daily basis? That is the question.
Because what's happened is in Christendom, in Pentecostalism, in Baptist-Costalism, in every-Costalism,
what we've done is we've taken signs and wonders and made them a rarity.
I would suggest to you that in Peter's life, in Paul's life, in Jesus' life, it was not a rarity.
There was an expectation every day, which is why crowds would gather around them.
So can we have an expectation? Is there scriptural proof for it? Matthew 11.2. Matthew 11.2.
Matthew 11.2.
Matthew 11.2. This is with Jesus, eh?
And here was the expectation that Jesus had of himself because of God working through him.
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him,
are you the one who was to come or should we expect someone else? Jesus replied.
He didn't go and give him a theology lesson. He said, Jesus replied, go back and report to John what you hear and see,
as in words and works. The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.
As in, if you're falling away because I'm saying that signs and miracles are normal,
then I would suggest to you that there is a problem because Jesus is saying, blessed are they who do not stumble because I say this.
And what did he say? He will authenticate who he is, his messiahship.
How is he authenticating his messiahship? He's saying to John, he's saying to John's disciples, go tell John what you hear and what you see, works, words.
I'm just excited, man.
Sorry, Erin, you asked a question? Okay.
Any questions?
That's with Jesus. Let's see if we can take it further. Matthew 10 verse 8.
Matthew 10 verse 8.
So if it's just Jesus, well, then too bad. Can't be anyone else.
So Matthew 10 verse 8 is to the, where is it? Matthew 10 verse, let's start at verse 5.
These 12, Jesus sent out with the following instructions.
Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.
As you go, preach this message. The kingdom of heaven is near.
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.
Freely you have received, freely give.
So here it's a command to the 12, listen, I want you to preach, but you can't go just preach.
You have to have signs and wonders accompanying you.
One of the things that immediately happens as soon as we hear this is we say, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, this applies to the apostles.
It doesn't apply to the rest. Okay.
So then let's look at Matthew 10. Let's go to Luke 10 verse 9, Luke 10 verse 9.
Luke 10 verse 9.
Let's start at verse 1 and then go to verse 9.
After this, the Lord appointed 72 others and sent them two by two ahead of him into every town and place where he was about to go.
Verse 9, heal the sick who are there. Tell them the kingdom of God is near you.
Verse 18, he replied, the 72 returned with joy and said, Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.
He replied, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy.
Nothing will harm you. However, you do not rejoice.
Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
Do you know that without signs and wonders, there is no delivering people from the clutches of the demonic?
Do you know what that makes this world miss out on?
Do you know how important Christians are when they cannot deal with the one that Jesus Christ came down to the earth in flesh
whose words he came down to destroy? What good are we then? What does salt taste like then?
Ah, but then it's the 72. It was limited to 72. Let's go to Acts 6, verse 8.
Let's pick on a deacon.
It's like one of those, you know what deacons are like, right?
They are aspiring leaders who the pastor appoints because they're very enthusiastic, but he doesn't want them anywhere near him.
So that's what deacons are. So look at what it says in Acts 6, verse 8.
Let's start at verse 5. The proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith in the Holy Spirit.
And so these were the deacons. The apostles laid hands on them and prayed. Now go to verse 8.
Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs amongst the people.
Now, but Stephen is an exception. Good. Let's go to Acts chapter 8, verse 6.
Here's Philip. He's an evangelist. Acts chapter 8, verse 6.
Verse 5.
Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there.
When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said.
With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many. Many paralegics and cripples were healed.
And so there was great joy in the city.
When was the last time a city was joyful because of these things happening?
There are times when it has happened, eh? I know stories.
But I don't want stories from the good old days. I want stories now in the good old days.
So then you think, but these are individuals. It can't be for a group of people.
Go to Galatians chapter 3, verse 5. Galatians 3, verse 5.
Galatians 3, verse 5.
Does God give you his spirit? Now listen to this. Paul is talking to a church now.
Paul is talking to a church now. He's not talking to one or two deacons or evangelists or apostles.
He's talking to a church now. And here's what he says in Galatians 3, verse 5.
He says, does God give you his spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law or because you believe what you heard?
It's a church now.
And if that isn't enough, go to 1 Corinthians 12, verse 9 and 10.
1 Corinthians 12, verse 9 and 10.
He's talking about the gifts. Now to each one, I'm starting at verse 7.
Now to each one, the manifestation of the spirit is given for common good.
Verse 9.
To another faith by the same spirit, to another gifts of healing by that same spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits.
Now go to the end of 1 Corinthians 12, verse 28.
Verse 28.
And in the church, God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles.
Also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others with gifts of administration.
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?
Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret but eagerly desire the greater gifts?
This was given to us as a church. These are disclosures of the activity of the Holy Spirit through the body of Christ.
Why is it that you have no problem speaking in tongues every day?
Why is it that many of you who speak in tongues do not think that it should happen only once in a while?
How come you don't say, crazy, I spoke in tongues yesterday, I'm speaking in tongues today. Great anointing.
No, you see it as a gift that is resident.
The same spirit that gave you the gift of tongues and gave you the gift of prophecy and gave you the gift of discernment
is the same spirit that now says, I give you the gift of healings, of miracles, signs and wonders.
It was given to the church, guys.
I want us to believe this on a daily basis, guys. Not once in a while.
This must be an expectation. You know, nations are taken and delivered through signs.
Deuteronomy 434, Deuteronomy 434, Deuteronomy 434.
God ain't changed, man. Deuteronomy 434.
Has any God ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation
by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm?
God takes nations through miracles and signs. He can.
If you want to use another word for nations, ethnos.
A people, a people group can be changed with signs.
That's what I showed you in Acts chapter 9, verse 35, where the people in Lydda and Joppa
were so amazed by what happened with Aeneas that two towns gave their lives to Jesus Christ.
I hope the Spirit of God is doing something in our heart, eh?
It was one of my impossible requests saying, Father, show me, show me this.
Show me how to take an ethnos, a people group, a race, a tribe, a nation.
Show me with your power how to take this.
Want to see it. Not me when I say me, not one person. Us.
What does it look like, man, to live in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 35 to 37?
Prophetic promises are birthed through signs and wonders.
Joel prophesied, and it's written in Acts chapter 2, verse 17,
that Joel had said that the Spirit of God will fall upon all flesh.
How does it happen? Sign and wonder. What was the sign?
While they were sitting in a room like this, suddenly there was a sound of a mighty rushing wind.
And after that there was fire that entered the room.
But the fire, after it entered the room, suddenly broke up into 120 little flames
that began to descend on people's heads.
There was commotion outside. 13 different nationalities gathered.
They could hear people speaking in the language of their own dialect,
and they were thinking, how is this happening?
Some thought they were drunk. Others realized that they were talking about God.
Promises come to pass through signs and wonders.
God births us into things he has promised through signs and wonders.
If you and I stop expecting and stop believing in signs and wonders,
many promises that God wants to bring to pass because they are impossible, stays dormant.
The Word of the Lord increases and prevails mightily through signs and wonders.
The Word of the Lord increases. It's very odd.
The Word of the Lord increases? What does that mean?
It means the Word of the Lord begins to spread rapidly and prevails mightily
when there are signs and wonders. Proof, Acts chapter 19.
Acts chapter 19, verse 17 to 20.
Acts 19, verse 17 to 20.
Verse 17 to 20.
Acts 19, 17 to 20.
When this became known to the Jews and the Greeks living in Ephesus,
they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
What seized them with fear?
That the seven sons of Skiwa who were trying to chase out demons
got beaten up by the demons, and that Paul instead cast his spirit out of
the woman with divination and was doing extraordinary miracles in verse 11
so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that touched him were taken to the sick
and the illness was cured and evil spirits left them.
Going back to verse 18.
Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds.
A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together
and burned them publicly.
When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to 50,000 drachmas.
Verse 20.
In this way, the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
And you want to avoid signs and wonders and yet live the Acts 29 or Acts 28 life?
Impossible.
Ancient doors are opened and shut through signs and wonders.
Ancient doors are open and shut through signs and wonders.
Want to hear about an ancient door that was shut on Mount Carmel?
You got 450 prophets of Baal and one man who knows how things work.
1 Kings 18.
He says, okay, here's the deal, guys.
You set up a bull for your God and I'll set up a bull for my God.
And let's see whose God answers.
It was a sign and a wonder that caused fire to fall.
Ancient doors are shut.
The ancient demonic doors are shut.
Ancient divine doors are opened by signs and wonders.
And God is looking, saying, come on, man, who will go for me?
He wants to do this.
The great thing is he always finds someone.
He's not in the Book of Isaiah anymore where he says, I looked and I found nobody.
Thank God that because of Jesus Christ, who is alive and well in people today,
that Jesus always finds someone nowadays.
I pray God that it be me, that it be us.
I don't want him to pass by and say, didn't find anyone here,
but I'm not put up because I can find someone down the road.
No longer does God come up empty handed and say, I've got to send Jesus again
because there's enough Jesuses around.
Signs and wonders can be imitated by Satan too.
Just be aware of that.
I've seen ancient doors being opened and shut in Uttarakhand,
in New Zealand, in Indonesia, in Mongolia.
I've seen it.
I've told you that story where signs and wonders changed an entire village in Borneo
where all they heard was the name Jesus and saw light on top of a hill
and they started going up the hill chanting the name Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
These were a bunch of drunk guys on whom books were written saying,
there's a book written called Drunk Until Dawn
because that entire village was being wiped out throughout Borneo
and they see this light on the mountain, they go up saying Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
They go up, all of them come back sober
and it completely changes that area in Borneo.
In 2013, I'm there in a little village called Miri
and I heard this story from a man called Tom Hamlin years ago
and I'm in that church and I'm looking around the church and I'm so sure I've been there
but I've never been there before.
And suddenly God reminds me saying, remember the story Tom Hamlin told you
and I remember and I ask an old man sitting in the front, I say,
is this the church Tom Hamlin came to?
Is this the church where people went up the hill
and they saw light there and they were touched by Jesus and they came back sober
and they stopped drinking and they all became Christians
and he said, yes, this is the church.
God didn't need anybody at that time.
All that happened was some missionary came and mentioned the name Jesus.
They went up the mountain, these guys don't know English, they speak a completely different dialect.
They go up the mountain, they were headhunters.
Read that book Drunk Until Dawn
and they come back from the mountain.
All of them changed, all of them sober.
It is one of the most dominant Christian areas in Borneo.
Signs and wonders can change nations.
Why don't we hear about it? Because it won't be brought up in CNN.
God is super active guys.
He can work with nobodies, eh? Nobodies.
Doesn't need someone special.
Signs and wonders can be imitated by Satan, eh?
So don't think that the world isn't seeing signs and wonders.
It's just that they aren't seeing enough signs and wonders from the people
to whom signs and wonders belong.
Other religions have no problem putting this on display.
In Matthew 24, 24, Jesus says many false prophets and many false messiahs will come
and they will do signs and wonders and they will deceive people.
In 2 Thessalonians 2, 9, Paul says,
listen, the lawless one is coming and the lawless one will be revealed
with signs and wonders, false signs and wonders.
In Acts chapter 8, verse 9 to 11, there was a man called Barre Jesus,
Elimastus Sorcerer, who was doing signs and wonders so much so
that they called him the Great One.
In Corinth, where Paul is writing and visiting churches,
they used to have a temple dedicated to the god Askelpius,
the god that you see on all the ambulances with the snakes around the staff.
It was supposed to be the god who heals, the god of medicine.
And in the midst of this, Paul stands and begins to talk about healing.
And gifts. And the gift of healing.
And the gift of healing.
There is a counterfeit out there that is destroying the souls of men.
Because the people to whom this rightfully belongs
aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing.
But we shall no longer be that people.
I'm going to take another 10 minutes.
Because I have to finish this. I can't leave it right now.
We might have to exit after I finish a little faster,
because I'm taking the extra 10 minutes,
so that we can prep for the next church that moves in here at about 5.30.
Signs demonstrate the reality of the presence of the kingdom.
These are some of the things that you and I have to just calibrate
our hearts and minds.
Signs demonstrate the reality of the presence of the kingdom.
These are some of the things that you and I have to just calibrate
our hearts and minds around.
If you belong to the kingdom of God,
signs bear witness to, or signs demonstrate the reality of the presence of the kingdom.
In Luke 11.20, Jesus said,
If I cast out demons by the finger of God,
then know that the kingdom of God is in your midst.
I, if I belong to the kingdom, must expect that signs and wonders
present the reality of the kingdom within me.
As in, signs and wonders are actually evidence of the fact that Jesus Christ is in me
and he wants to do something.
This kingdom presents evidence of its presence here on earth.
And one of the ways it does it is signs and wonders.
Two. In spiritual confrontations,
signs expose and subdue and unleash fear on the enemy.
In spiritual confrontations,
signs expose, subdue, and unleash fear on the enemy.
In spiritual confrontations,
signs and wonders expose, subdue and unleash fear on the enemy.
fear on the enemy. In Acts chapter 13 there was a man who tried to stop Paul
from influencing Sergius Paulus, the governor of Paphos. He was a sorcerer
and he tried to prevent Sergius Paulus from hearing the gospel. Paul
turns around and says to him that because of your wickedness, blindness is
going to descend on you right now and as he speaks the man goes blind. And Sergius
Paulus sees it, people around him see it and they give up what they believed in
and they begin to follow Jesus Christ. One of the things we haven't seen is the
vengeance of God. It's not vengeance that destroys, it's a vengeance that puts you
in acknowledgement of who he is. Sometimes guys there are certain things
that can only be gotten through spiritual confrontation. I've had so many
experiences of this over the last 10 or 12 years. It is nuts and every time it
brings so much fear to the enemy and to the agents of the enemy as in human
agents of the enemy. It brings great fear. But see if I'm saying that it requires
that this church begin to rise and take part in spiritual confrontations, not
just say Kesarasara, fight for what the enemy has snatched. Things are not
restored automatically. Things have to be plundered sometimes. Some things have
to be warred for, some things are restored. Know the things that have to be fought
for and every time you fight for it signs and wonders come into play. Here's
another one that is critical. We walk this next point I'm saying and you'll
see it for sure. Acts chapter 14 verse 3. Acts 14 verse 3.
So Paul and Barnabas spent, this is an iconium, so Paul and Barnabas spent
considerable time there speaking boldly for the Lord who confirmed the message
of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. Speak bold
the truth about his grace and he will give you the ability to do miraculous
signs and wonders to show people that you were telling the truth about his
saving grace. Speak boldly about his grace and his truth. Speak boldly as in
not in some roundabout way that Jesus is a nice man. No, speak boldly of the truth
and the grace that Jesus is, that Jesus brings. Speak boldly about the truth
about his grace and he will give you the ability to do miraculous signs and
wonders to show the ones who are listening that you are telling the truth
about his grace. Mark 16 20 says the same thing and God endorsed or
confirmed what they preached with signs and wonders. Hebrews chapter 2 verse 4
says the same thing. That God will testify to the truth that you are
speaking through signs and wonders. Boldness in presenting the truth of God.
No more God but Jesus. God is acceptable, Jesus is not. Jesus is a stumbling block
not God. People are fine with God. Present the truth of Jesus Christ, the one
crucified, the one risen and then see how signs and wonders break through you.
Guaranteed again and again and again in Jesus's words, in Paul's words, in Peter's
words again and again. I plan to do this because I cannot live a sterilized life
for words and no works and I cannot have them happen on a mission trip because
I've been stuck here for the last 10 months. Here's another one, two more
points and we are done. Cause the Spirit of Christ lives in me. I didn't say the
Holy Spirit, I didn't say the Spirit of God. Romans 8 verse 9 refers to the Holy
Spirit as the Spirit of Christ. Cause the Spirit of Christ lives in me. He can do
through me what he did through Christ. If you want heavy words, Paul's
pneumatology is always Christological meaning everything that Paul says about
the Holy Spirit is so Christ centered. Because the Spirit of Christ himself
lives in me. This really affected me. That Spirit of God because you live in me,
Spirit of Christ because you live in me, you can do through me. I must, I must wrap
my head around this every morning that today you can do through me whatever you
did through Christ. I must go into the world with this understanding that the
Spirit of Christ because he lives in me can do through me everything that he did
through Christ and I must present myself ready. I must have a language in terms of
my mind and my spirit that is open for it to flow and I must have a mind that
is alert to encounters where he wants to do so and then I must become absolutely
helpless, reliant and foolish so that he may be provoked to do what he wants to
do. And the last one. Signs and wonders. This is so odd. Signs and wonders
multiply when hearts are hard, threats are many and enemies arise. Signs and
wonders multiply when hearts are hard, when threats are many and when one and
when enemies arise. Instead of it being negative, instead of it slowing things
down, signs and wonders multiply when hearts are hard, when threats are many
and when enemies arise. Go to Exodus 7.3. Exodus 7.3. Exodus 7.3.
Poor Moses, eh? He's already struggling with having to go to Egypt and then
instead of helping him and comforting him and making it easier, God says, oh by
the way I'm sending you to Egypt I know you don't want to go there. I also want
you to know that once you go there and start talking his heart will get harder
because I'm going to do that. I mean talk about stacking the odds up and so he
says in verse 3, but I will harden Pharaoh's heart and though I multiply my
miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt he will not listen to you. Then I will lay
my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions,
my people, the Israelites and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord
when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of there.
The hardening of heart multiplies miracles. Go to Deuteronomy 7.19.
Deuteronomy 7.19. Deuteronomy 7 verse 19.
He's talking about how he will deal with Israel's enemies as they walk through the desert in the
midst of hostile nations. Verse 19, you saw with your own eyes the great trials,
the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm with which the Lord your
God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the people you now fear. As in,
don't worry about your enemies. I will do what I have done before. One last scripture, Acts chapter 4,
Acts chapter 4, verse 30. Acts chapter 4, verse 30. Starting at verse 29. Now Lord, consider their
threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand
to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your Holy Servant Jesus. After
they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken and they were all filled with the
Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Threats, the rising of enemies and the hardening
of hearts multiplies miracles, signs and wonders. Look forward to it when people's hearts are hard,
when enemies arise, when threats come against you. Recalibrate our thinking. Align ourselves
with how God works. Take public stands. It is impossible for God to show off till you show him
off. It is impossible for God to show off till I begin to show him off. And you have been appointed
to your spheres, your segments, your streets for this reason. Show me off where I have planted you.
Jeeva, come pray and finish. I always have a closing song but never have time for it.
So Jeevan is the second option.