Signs Cease Not

Our Lord’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are certainly never ours. It is very scary how we see and hear things of God and without the confirmation of the Holy Spirit, we believe, and live the most pathetically sad and disappointed lives, when our end draws near.

I know of many ardent and faithful followers of our Lord, who have been persuaded to believe facts which have not been confirmed by the Holy Spirit and who end up totally devastated. Not only that, but it also can adversely affect many people in their belief. This may be your case also, as was the case of someone I knew, who was sure that he would not die, as Jesus was coming soon, in his life-span. This was no joke, for it was believed with such surety, it was spoken of and many people, including me, heard. I know it affected me tremendously, when the person died, and Jesus had not come.

What really am I saying? All this is to say that too many Christian believers still live lives void of the conviction, confirmation and commendation of the Holy Ghost. I say this, because I believe that it is impossible for a believer in whom the Spirit of Truth abides, to live a lie. Signs of Truth must be, if Truth Abides. Think on that!

Signs of the truth of all that Jesus has spoken must abide and they will be revealed to all who believe and have received the Spirit of Truth.  Here, I am constrained to return to the Scripture Text from Mark 16: 15 – 20, and record it. May we all be given teachable spirits, hearing ears and understanding minds.

We need You, O Spirit of Truth!  Amen!    

He said to them, 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. After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by signs that accompanied it.  

We continue, knowing that the Lord still works with His Holy Ghost filled servants and confirms all the works they do and all the words they speak in obedience to Him. 

I am also surer now than ever, that our Lord confirmed all His servants’ works, right there on that first outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples. We are looking at this given sign.

In My Name they will not be at all hurt when they drink deadly poison. 

This particular sign is being presented to us as a whole, but sliced in two parts. We shall be brought to these parts through an incident which Elisha experienced at Gilgal, at the time of a terrible famine. 

A large company of the prophets was meeting with him, and he asked his servant to put on a large pot and cook stew for those prophets. One of the people goes out into the fields to gather herbs, and finding a wild vine, cuts some and takes it back. These herbs are cut up and placed in the pot of stew. When the stew was cooked, it was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, O man of God, there is death in the pot! 2 Kings 4: 40b. They could not eat the food because it was poisonous.

This is poisonous and deadly and Elisha’s guests have eaten some. This man of God is given the power of God to do two things. First, he brings healing to those who have eaten some of the deadly poison. Second, he brings change to the deadly pot of stew. Elisha said, Get some flour. He put it into the pot and said, Serve it to the people to eat. And there was nothing harmful in the pot.  2 Kings 4: 41.

Why this incident? Of what relevance is this to us and Pentecostal signs? Where is the poison at Pentecost? As with other signs, we are not too arrogant to accept that we can never think and understand as God does. We are humbled enough to give our lives over to Him and see as He sees and believe as He shows.

Tomorrow we continue with poison at Pentecost.