From
Acts to Revelation
Part
13 – Apostles Heal Many
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House
of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org
INTRODUCTION
The Apostles continue to minister to the
people, and many signs wonders and miracles are following them.
Although they have been warned, and
taunted, punished and locked up, they continue to serve Jesus Christ and tell
of the things in which they have seen and heard.
Do you, a follower of Christ, a believer in
God's Word, stand so strong against opposition in life?
Are you continuing to serve, regardless of
what is taking place around you, or are you allowing the things of this world
to have all of your attention, thus robbing the lord of your service?
SCRIPTURE READING
Acts 5:12-16
12 The apostles performed many miraculous signs
and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in
Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 No one else
dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed
in the Lord and were added to their number. 15 As
a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and
mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed
by. 16Crowds gathered also from the towns around
Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and
all of them were healed.
I.
THE APOSTLES PERFORMED SIGNS AND WONDERS
1. God uses signs,
wonders and miracles to distinguish His messengers from others.
1. The prophets of the
Old Testament had them to show they were the true messengers of God.
2. Moses parted the
Red Sea by his obedience to the command of God.
3. Not every follower
of God in the Old Testament can do this simply because they are a follower of
God.
4. Moses, along with
the signs and wonders and miracles that followed him, were to signify to God's
people that God had given Moses the message of the Covenant, and he (Moses),
was to be trusted as a true messenger of God's.
2. God used signs,
wonders and miracles to distinguish His messengers with the New Covenant as
well.
1. The Apostles were
specifically chosen by Jesus to be the prophets of the New Covenant.
2. To set them apart
as the ones with authority from God to teach His message of this new covenant,
they had signs, wonders and miracles that no one else could imitate.
3. Not all of the
Disciples showed signs, wonders and miracles.
4. In fact, everywhere
in the New Testament that it talks about signs, wonders and miracles as far as
the message of the New Covenant is concerned, it only talks about Jesus, and
the Apostles.
3. God still performs
these signs, wonders and miracles, but they take place through the means of
prayer, and the working of God through the Holy Spirit in the form of Spiritual
Gifts.
1. We no longer see
the signs, wonders and miracles all coming from a single person, because the
message of the New Covenant has been brought to man, through Jesus and the
workings of the Apostles.
2. God did this in the
Old testament to bring His Covenant through the prophets.
3. God did this in the
New Testament to bring His New covenant through Jesus Christ and the Apostles.
4. And God will do
this again, in the middle of tribulation, when God brings His two prophets to
the world to preach the message one last time for anyone who will listen.
4. And to prove that
these two are really sent by God, and not just people claiming to be, they will
have signs, wonders and miracles that no on else can imitate. This is how God
establishes His authoritative messengers.
5. We see in the
scriptures that the message was being preached by the Apostles, and they
continued to do signs, wonders and miracles, thus proving the message of the
New Covenant they brought, was truly from God.
II.
NO ONE ELSE JOINED THEM
1. In verse 13-14, we see
the scripture state that, “No one else dared join
them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women
believed in the Lord and were added to their number.”
1. This
speaks of the fact that no one else was added to the number of the Apostles,
but rather, all those who believed were added to the number of the Church.
2. This
scripture negates the teaching of some belief systems that state that there is
Apostolic succession, or the powers, signs and wonders as well as the authority
to make foundational statements to the faith, are passed down from Apostle to
Apostle.
3. The
scripture clearly states, all those who believed were added to the Church, and
none were added to the Apostles.
2. Once
the foundation had been established by God through Jesus Christ and the
Apostles for the New Covenant, there was no longer a need for Apostles. The
foundation had been laid, and the Word of God given.
3. We
continue today, in the power of the Holy Spirit, who through the Spiritual
Gifts of God, give us Pastors to lead and teach, and for the signs, wonders and
miracles, they too come through the members of the Body of Christ, by means of
the Holy Spirit, to build and strengthen the body of believer's through
fellowship.
4. God
also continues to work through prayer, and our supplications.
III.
ALL WHO CAME WERE HEALED
1. A true sign that
someone has the authority to speak the foundational belief system with
authority from God is by the signs and wonders and miracles.
1. We have some today
who call themselves Prophets, and Apostles, but are nothing more than men and
women who have deceived themselves and misunderstood the Word of God.
2. Not all are
charlatans, not all purposely deceive God's children, but they have lost sight
of the Truth of God's Word, which tells us, there are no more Apostles, and the
Disciples are to use prayer, and the Spiritual Gifts we are given by God's Holy
Spirit.
2. Some of these
people have huge events, promising healing, miracles, as well as signs and
wonders, trying to prove their authoritative teachings.
1. Most of which later
fall because of pride, arrogance, greed, etc...
2. Because they were
NOT there for God, but themselves.
3. The scripture here
tells a story, that cannot be imitated, in verse 16 we read, “Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem,
bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them
were healed.”
1. ALL OF
THEM WERE HEALED!
2. Not
most of them, or some of them, but ALL.
CLOSING
God establishes a select few to represent Him and His covenant, in
the Old testament as well as the New, setting them apart from all others with
powers, signs, wonders and miracles that no one else can imitate, proving they
are the authoritative foundation for His Covenant.
We, as God's followers, need to better understand who we are, and
where we stand in God's plan, so that we can effectively serve Him in the
manner in which He has enabled us through His Holy Spirit.
If we try to act outside of this boundary, we will fail, we will
become discouraged, and we will lose faith in the power and ability of God,
which will then lead to us losing hope.
There are still miracles today, healing, signs and wonders, and I
am not talking about Jesus' face appearing on paneling, statues that cry blood
or Mary's face on a burnt piece of toast.
Our God is a powerful God, who is in control, and who shows
Himself by flooding an entire planet to wipe out sin, opening up the earth to
swallow priests of Baal, a God who has fireballs rain down from the heavens to
destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, a God who shakes the earth destroying entire
nations at His Word, a God who saved all of humankind by an act of selflessness
and sacrifice.
Not a God who places cartoon images of a woman who has no business
being worshiped on to a piece of bread, or a hippies face on the bark of a tree
that resembles an artists rendition of what the Lord looked like, painted 300
years after He walked the earth.
This mediocre representation of who God is, reflects our societies
mediocre awe and petty reverence for the Creator of the universe.
They want to see who God truly is, then we, the followers of Jesus
Christ, member of the Body of Christ, and the only ones here to represent God's
Holy Word and His Church, NEED to discover our Spiritual Gifts, and start
living them in our everyday lives, so that others will witness our Lord
first-hand in our love for others, and they will witness God's powers in our fruits
and gifts.
