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If Jesus is your Lord, King and Master, there are signs that your life must show. They came to Jesus at a point in the book of Matthew and they said to Him, show us a sign. The perspective of those asking Jesus to show them a sign was not a right perspective. They had an attitude that was not correct but despite that, they asked a question. Matthew 12:38 “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” Another word for teacher is Lord, or Master. You don’t call a person or a man teacher when you know such a person does not have anything to teach or offer you. If you call a man teacher, then it means that you have a prerequisite knowledge that such a man has grace to teach.
If you call him master, then it means that person is your master indeed. So, in this context, the Pharisees and the Scribes who did not believe in Jesus yet called Him teacher. They told Him teacher, we want to see a sign from you. Although you are claiming you are this and that, but we are struggling to believe. But if you can show us a sign, then we can believe who you say you are. So it shows us that beyond you carrying a name tag that you are a believer or a Christian, there are signs that you can show that when people see, they will be so sure and clear that you are indeed who you claim you are. So they asked Jesus, show us a sign!
In verse 39 of that Matthew 12, look at what Jesus said to them “But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” No sign will be giving to it. If we pause here, we would think Jesus did not answer them, but He said “except the sign of Prophet Jonah”, for as it was in the time of Prophet Jonah, that is how it would be for the son of man. If you have an idea of what transpired in the time of Prophet Jonah, then you can have an idea of what will happen to the son of man.
So, signs are means of substantiating your true identity, backing up as it were of whom you think or claim you are. Now you could claim that you are somebody, but if the sign that exudes from your life claims something else, the people would abandon what you are saying and then pick up the signs they are getting. For people or human beings generally, the body language is the sign. You can claim that you are loving but your body language shows that you are a defensive person, you don’t want people to come close to you and very unfriendly. Even though you claim to be friendly, people will say behind your back that you are an unfriendly person.
Your sign backs up your claim, and it both confirms and also disqualifies it as well. So it is important that we know the signs that are relevant if indeed we claim we are disciples of Jesus Christ. There are quite a lot of masters and lords as well, but if Jesus is indeed your Master, then there are signs that your life should produce. If these signs cannot be found with you, then it is indeed time that you begin to question your faith and beliefs about our Lord Jesus Christ. So, let us examine these signs in the book of Mark 16:14-20. This will be the central Scripture for this discussion tonight.
14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 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.” 19 So then, after the Lord 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, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
The only condition to have signs following them, according to verse 17 is that they believe. One thing that many people don’t disagree with is that if you are a Christian, you are assumed to be a believer. As a matter of fact, every man believes in something. The only difference comes when we are examining who we believe and what we believe. What separates you from other believers is that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and they don’t. So if you call yourself a believer indeed, there are signs that must follow you, because the only condition by which you experience these signs is that you believe. How do you even claim that you are a believer when these signs are not following you?
Sign number one says that “In my name they will cast out demons” I remember the account in the book of Acts when Peter and John met with the lay man at the Beautiful Gate. When they confronted him, the man was looking at them as if he could get something from them. They told him “Look at us, Silver and Gold we do not have, we give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” And when the miracle took place, and people gathered. They told the people, why are you looking at us as if we are some special people, it is faith in the name of Jesus Christ that has brought this man up.
It was Jesus that said these signs shall follow them that believe and in my name they will cast out demons, and actually; the sign followed the disciples of Jesus Christ. The question to you then is: how many demons would you say you have cast out in your own life time? Have you attempted to cast any demon out because the truth is, there are many demons in many places. When they came to you, were you apologetic to them or you exercise your authority over them as a believer? You cannot believe in some other things and at the same time believe in our Lord Jesus Christ. You cannot call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ if you do not believe in Him. It is because you believe, that is why you will call (Romans 10:14).
If you are indeed a believer in Jesus Christ, one of the signs that must follow your life, follow your ministry, follow your marriage is that you cast out demons in the name of Jesus, and you cannot cast out until you believe that Jesus is able.
Another sign that must follow you is documented in that Mark 16:17 as well. It says “they will speak with New tongues” You know this is one matter that is a bit a matter of doctrine, but never the less, if the truth must be told, according to the book of Acts of the Apostles, let us not forget what we just read now, bible says they will speak with new tongues, right? 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.” You will hardly find a people that are filled with the Holy Ghost, and they will never speak with other tongues. I am sure you know that some people call themselves believers, Christians that have been in the body of Christ for so long as it were, and they cannot still speak in tongues, and yet they call themselves believers.
They have been claiming association with the people of God for so long yet, but the signs that must follow those who are people of God indeed, they lack the sign. So the devil preys on them and their family and their destinies. The Bible says in the book of Isaiah that when the enemies come like a flood; the Spirit of the Lord shall lift a standard against them. Notices it didn’t say if the enemy comes like a flood, it says when. Now how do you engage the Spirit of the Lord in raising a standard against the enemy when you cannot speak in the Spirit? You have no other tongue or language except that which you have been used to and accustomed with, like your Yoruba language, your Ibira language and what have you, but you cannot speak in other tongues. If you cannot do this, then you should start questioning what you believe and who you believe.
know whom I believe, says Apostle Paul. Whom have you believed? Some would say, i can speak in tongues, I don’t know how they even speak it. May we should begin examining you from you believe in, because the Scripture says no man can say Jesus is accursed by the Holy Spirit and yet no man can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit and if these assertions are so, how can you then speak in other tongues without the Holy Spirit? So because you believe in Jesus, you are in a way a potential receiver of the Spirit of Jesus. Let’s quickly examine the book of John 1:10-12
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
It says as many as received Him and believe in His name, to them He gave the right to become the children of God. So, as children of God, let us see what is expected of children of God. Romans 8:14, the Bible says “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” How can you claim that you are a child of God when His Spirit is not leading you? The Spirit of God inspires the children of God to speak in other languages beyond their mother languages. The Spirit of God does more than leading, more than teaching; He also inspires to speak in tongues. The encounter in Acts 2 clearly explains this: It says the disciples began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. So, when you believe in Jesus and you possess the Spirit, He will inspire you; give you utterance to speak in tongues.
So, what shows that you are truly a believer, beyond the stickers on your cars or your doorposts that shows “I am a winner” or “I am a Dunamite” is you being able to cast out demons around you or your household or you business and being able to speak in new tongues. Apostle Paul once said that he spoke in tongues more the rest of the church at Corinth. So, speaking in tongues is sign number two and it is very important for a believer.
If you are a true believer of Christ, you cannot be going about His business and also be thinking at the same time whether something bad is going to happen to you. Sign number three that accompanies true disciples addresses this fact. It says “they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them.” There was an incident in the book of Acts where a poisonous snake fastened on the hands of the Apostle Paul and bit him. The Bible says he simply shook the snake off into the fire, and people around were wondering when he was going to fall down and die. After they watched for several minutes and nothing happened to him, they concluded that he must have been a god.
You can’t claim you are a firm believe in Jesus and be scared of what would happen to you, no! It does not add up. The Bible says in the book of Psalms 105:14-15 that God permitted no one to do them wrong and rebuked Kings for their sakes, saying do not touch my anointed ones and do my prophets no harm. If God can say this of people, how much more animals? God can scare away animals from you. Therefore, nothing should become an excuse for you on your way to fulfilling the plan of God. Nothing should stop you and I. Prophet Agabus in the book of Acts prophesied that Apostle Paul was going to be bound if he goes to Jerusalem, and the brethren started persuading him not to go. But Apostle Paul said he was not ready only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem.
But the truth is, he went to Jerusalem and eventually did not die. Some believers could have decided not to follow through with the plan of God simply because of what they would go through. But this should not be so! It says in that verse 18 as well, that “and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them.” These words are not sugarcoated word given to people; this was the plan of God for anyone who claims to be following Jesus. If what Jesus told the disciples came to pass in their time, why would it not also come to pass in your own life? Are you lesser than them? If Aprons from Apostle Paul and Peter’s shadow could heal the sick, why can’t these experiences also happen in your life as a disciple of Jesus Christ?
These people that Jesus talked to that the signs would follow them went out preaching everywhere, with the signs accompanying them. If the signs aren’t following us today as the disciples of Jesus that we claim, then we should begin to question what we have truly believed in then. Maybe we have not been introduced to the true Jesus or maybe we are the ones that have not really believed Him as we ought to. We should not waste our time because the devil is not afraid of your name, he is only afraid of what you believe in. Blessed is that brother or sister who has believed in that which the Lord has to him or her. The Lord has told you if you believe in His name, you will cast out demons, blessed are you if you believe.
There is the blessing of God on your believe. And how do you even know what you believe, it is through you doing things. The Bible says “the signs will follow“, not in you sitting down. It means you have to be on the move for you to truly experience these signs. The only way to verify your authority in Christ is by you going out. And the Bible says the disciples went everywhere, signs following them. You cannot believe and sit down doing nothing; you would not know you have power. Imagine a power station that has generated some amount of kilowatts of electricity and nothing is evacuated? To whose benefit is the generation? The only way they can prove this is by distributing this power generation across the nation and then people can see it.
The grace of God in you, is it residing in you or it is been evacuated regularly? You have grace, everything you touch becomes heal and yet, you don’t touch anyone. How would you know you have the power to heal? If you believe then you must go out and lay your hands on the sick, you must speak in new tongues, both inside and outside of your house. You must cast out demons in everybody you come across that has one. If there are demons tormenting your city, you have the responsibility to cast them out. In Zachariah, the Bible talked about some horns that have come to terrify the people of God, and the raising of some craftsmen to terrify the horns and to cast them out.
Are you going to be an idle craftsman or a functional craftsman? Would you rise up and terrify the demons tormenting your family, or you would go about complaining that Jesus has not told you what to do, when He says that you should open your mouth wide and He shall fill it. Life and death are in the power of the tongue, but the only thing you do is to keep quiet and you complain Jesus has not done anything to you.
I pray that God will help us in Jesus’ Name!
