Encounter # 66:                          Signs Follow Believers

                                                      Read: Mark 16:17-18

   Jesus tells us what signs will follow believers.  A " sign" points to something. It is a seal applied to a document to prove that it is true, real and approved. Jesus said that certrain signs will point to Himself. These signs follow believers. If Jesus is your personal Lord and Savior, then you are a believer. You believe in Jesus, you believe the Bible is God's Word and you believe the full Gospel. These signs will accompany you as you go and preach.

 Because Jesus has all authority in heaven and in earth (Mt. 28:18), He has delegated this authority to all believers (Luke 10:19). What signs have  Jesus given us to perform?

  Jesus said that in His Name we are to cast out demons. No other Name can be used to expel demons. Read the Word and see how Jesus cast our demons from people. We have the same authority through His Name. When someone is delivered from demonic possession and oppression, then it points to the power of Jesus.

  Another sign that follows believers is speaking in new trongues. This began on the day of Pentecost to the Jewish people (Acts 2), then came to the Gentiles (Acts 10), and then was experienced by men of Ephesus (Acts 19), and was practiced in the Corinthian church (1 Corin. 12-14). And it is still for today. Have you been baptized in the Holy Spirit with the physical evidence of speaking in a heavenly language? Seek the Baptizer, Jesus. And ask Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit.

  Taking up serpents is another sign. This does not mean to be a snake handler in church. That would be testing and tempting God. The apostle Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake, but he survived (Acts 28). God will protect you for the "snakes" that bite you. It may be a person or situation that has poisoned you. God will deliver you.

  If you drink any deadly thing you will not die. Again, this does not mean that you willingly drink poison and trust God to protect you. It means that if you are poisoned unknowingly, God will keep you from dying. Jesus said that no hurt can come to you from the enemy (Luke 10:19).

 And if you lay hands on the sick they will recover. This a practice in the Bible. When someone is sick and they ask for pray. lay your hands on them and believe for Jesus to heal them. Jesus is the Healer.

  Are these signs following you? Are you pointing people to Jesus as these signs occur? These signs prove that Jesus is God, that the Bible is true and that Jesus is the same as He was (Heb. 13:8). Expect God to do the miracles. Keep believing. Press forward in your faith to see the supernatural. Rekindle the fire of the Holy Spirit in you to see God's supernatural signature at work through signs.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, allow the Holy Spirit through me to perform the signs that Jesus promised. I desire to point people to Jesus. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Application: Step out in faith, and allow the Holy Spirit to use you in signs that point to Jesus.

Encounter:  Receive the promises of Jesus and the anointing of the Holy Spirit to manifest the signs of a believer. You are a believer. Watch these signs follow you.