Mark 16:15 And He
said to them, “Go into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature.
Mark 16:16 He who
believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be
condemned.
Mark 16:17 And these
signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they
will speak with new tongues;
Mark 16:18 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.”
One of the
most important parts of the life of a believer in today’s times that is often
overlooked because we are not being taught of the importance of our part in the
body of Christ is in taking ownership of the gospel. What a privilege we have
after being born again to be a part of reaching others with the truth of the
gospel. We need to fully understand what our role is as the body of Christ.
Jesus is the head, we are the hands and the feet that have been commissioned to
go and change lives.
There are
three major things I want to address this week in which we have been called to
fulfill as a follower of Christ. I want to share with you the simple biblical
truths of how we are to fulfill this responsibility. We must realize that what
we have freely received Jesus said we are to now freely give. Christianity is
not a “self-help” program. Christianity is all about receiving what Christ has
done for us seeing our lives changed, and reaching out to others to help see
their lives changed as well. This honor is bestowed on every born again
believer, it is not just the responsibility of the five-fold ministry gifts.
Jesus tells
us here we are to go into all the world and proclaim the gospel message. We are
not all called to go live in foreign lands, which is the picture many get when
thinking of this verse, but we all have a world around us we are to reach. The
three things I want to share with you are:
1. How to
share the gospel.
2. How to
get people baptized in the Holy Spirit.
3. How to
pray for people to be healed.
These are
the three primary things that we should be doing on a regular basis. Jesus’
disciples in fulfilling their assignment went about preaching the gospel,
getting people filled with the Holy Spirit, and laying hands on the sick and
seeing them recover. They did deal with demons as well, but I am going to focus
on these three things. Dealing with demons is something believers should learn
as well but should be done through their church as they are taught how to do so
biblically.
2 Cor. 7:10
For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted;
but the sorrow of the world produces death.
We will cover
the first topic, which is how to share the gospel the way Jesus did. This will be
rather condensed, but will give you a good foundation to build on. This verse
in 2 Corinthians is one of the most important verses in scripture about
salvation. Take note here that if someone has godly sorrow it will produce
repentance, and this in turn will lead one to salvation. If they have the
sorrow of the world, this will not produce repentance and only leads to death.
What we are to do in presenting the gospel biblically is find out if there is
godly sorrow.
When you
look to Jesus’ examples in the Bible he had a rich young ruler ask what he must
do to enter into the Kingdom of God, and he referred to Jesus as a good
teacher. Jesus immediately responded by telling this young man that there is
none good but one, God. He then reeled off 6 of the 10 commandments. The man
said he had kept those since his youth. Then Jesus told him to sell all he had,
give it to the poor, and come follow Him. He was now using the first
commandment, which states you shall have no other gods. He dropped his head and
walked away because he did not have godly sorrow.
Jesus
approaches a woman at a well and after talking to her tells her to go and get
her husband. She states she does not have a husband and Jesus declares she had
five previously, and the man she was with now was not her husband. This was
addressing the issue of adultery, one of the commandments. She acknowledges Him
as a prophet and through their conversation she declares that she knows that
there is a Messiah to come. This is godly sorrow for she is recognizing her desire
to turn from her sin and turn to God. Repentance was produced because she had
godly sorrow.
Rom. 3:20
For no person will be justified (made righteous, acquitted, and judged
acceptable) in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law. For [the
real function of] the Law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin [not
mere perception, but an acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance,
faith, and holy character].
Here we see
the purpose of the law is to make people conscious of the fact that they are a
sinner. When someone becomes conscious of their sinful nature through the law
you will see if there is godly sorrow, and a desire to turn from sin, or the
sorrow of the world, unwilling to turn from sin. This is a vital key in sharing
the gospel. You must first find out if someone at the time has godly sorrow or
the sorrow of the world. If they don’t have godly sorrow there will be no
repentance, which is necessary for someone to get born again. But remember that
does not mean latter on they may not have godly sorrow for a seed has been
planted, or you may have even be watering seed someone else already planted.
But you must make sure the person has godly sorrow for a true conversion to
take place.
Acts 1:4 And being
assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you
have heard from Me;
Acts 1:5 for John
truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not
many days from now.”
Acts 1:8 But you
shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be
witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of
the earth.”
Acts 2:1 When the
Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Acts 2:2 And
suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it
filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Acts 2:3 Then there
appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
Acts 2:4 And they
were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as
the Spirit gave them utterance.
Another
very important part of our calling is helping people to receive the “Promise of
the Father” which was not salvation here, but being baptized in the Holy
Spirit. Before Jesus ascended to heaven in John 20:22 He had breathed on His
disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. They were born again right
then. Here in Acts chapter 2 when the Holy Spirit come upon them Jesus had
already ascended into heaven and this is clearly a Promise of the Father that
is not the same as being born again. They were all filled (baptized) in the
Holy Spirit and the evidence that they had received this was that they all
begin to speak in other tongues, or a heavenly language.
There are
other accounts following this in which the disciples then went forth and having
found people who were already born again they laid their hands on them, or even
while sharing with others about the baptism of the Holy Spirit those people
were also baptized in the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues. There are
many benefits to speaking in tongues, but the primary reason we get baptized in
the Holy Spirit is to completely yield ourselves to the Lord, and to receive an
empowerment through Him to become a living witness by seeing that power flow
through us and deliver others.
To help
someone receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit one only needs to share with
others who are born again that this is a separate experience from salvation
that is a Promise from the Father and like any Promise from the Father all they
have to do is believe in that Promise and ask to be baptized in the Holy
Spirit. Sometimes as a point of contact just as the disciples did it is good to
lay hands on people and pray with them to receive this Promise. They simply
receive it by faith just as they did salvation.
Mark 16: …they will
lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Looking
back to one of our foundation verses Jesus tells us that if we have put our
faith in Him then we can lay hands on the sick and they will recover. We know
when you look to scripture that one of the key elements for people to receive
healing is to have faith in God’s healing ability. One of the most important
things to do when you first approach someone to pray for healing is to locate
their faith in God.
Mark 10:51
And Jesus said to him, What do you want Me to do for you?
And the blind man said to Him, Master, let me receive my sight.
You see this
example with Jesus where a blind man was brought before Him and it was obvious
what the man needed but Jesus asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
It was obvious, but Jesus was locating his faith to see if he was ready to
receive his healing. If someone is lacking the faith you should first begin to
minister the Word of God to them about healing, for faith comes by hearing and
hearing by the Word of God.
We are so
blessed as the body of Christ to get to do the works of Christ. Remember, He is
the head and we are the body. The body is the part that carries out what the
head desires. It is His desire for us to now go and preach the gospel, baptize
people in the Holy Spirit, and to heal the sick. We need to take ownership in
the gospel and walk in Christ’s example. As He stated He was to be about the
Father’s business, and so should we.
See You Again
Next Week For More “Weekly Wisdom”
May God’s Best
Be Yours!
Pastor Darryl Baker
