Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is
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right in. Good evening everybody. It's good to
be here this evening to share the Word of God
with us. We started on Sunday. uh very quickly
and we we moved into the definition of understanding
what's working of miracles right what it is right
we try as much as possible to to expand it and
touch upon every aspect of it right uh so that
we can be able to understand uh what exactly
it is we differentiated with a little bit from
healing saying all miracles are healing uh sorry
all healings are miracles not all miracles are
healing and we identify those areas that are
other miraculous things jesus did the apostles
did um but they're not exactly healing i think
we also end on for the healing is spiritual healing
is supernatural and We can see, right? Walking
of miracles is spiritual, is supernatural, and
is spectacular. It means we can see. This evening,
we're going to deal with something still related
to walking of miracles. Just continue from where
we stopped, which is why the miraculous, right?
That's what we just want to deal with this evening.
Why the miraculous? Why should we, you know,
in the working of miracles? What is the essence
of it? When we begin to pick, of course, some
of the things that I said on Sunday, I'm going
to repeat some of them again because we didn't
read the scriptures, right? When we begin to
pick it, we'll get to a point where we have to
expand a little bit on certain understandings
that we have regarding the miraculous. This evening
is actually why the miraculous? Why the miraculous?
So the first thing we're going to see is Mark
16, 17 to 20, which is what has been read while
prayer was being led. It says, and these signs
will follow those who believe in my name. They
will cast out demons. They will speak with new
tongues. 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. So then after the Lord had spoken
to them, he was received into the heaven and
sat down at the right hand of God. So we said
last on Sunday that the miraculous, they are
actually marks of the gospel. We talked about
that. They are the mark of the gospel. They are
the mark. of the power of God at work. When the
preaching of the gospel is taking place, right,
they are the marks that the power of God is at
work. So while we are preaching, we should expect
them, right? While we are preaching, we should
expect them. So they are the marks of the gospel.
Now, go to verse 20. Just the same marks, just
drop to verse 20. It says, And they went out
and preached everywhere, the Lord walking with
them and confirming the word through the accompanying
signs. It said, They went out and preached everywhere,
the Lord walking with them and confirming the
word. It means confirming their preaching through
the accompanying signs. Do you remember when
we were reading Acts? that God declared Jesus,
right, by the signs and wonders he did. And we
said that word, I think, which acts as that,
let's check, acts, it goes to acts a little bit.
And I explained that that word is actually the
declaration. He said he's approved of God. He
was saying that God approved Jesus, right, by
the signs and wonders that he did. And I said
that approve is actually the word to declare,
right, to make known, to make manifest. uh someone
to make manifest god right in act um let's see
i think when peter was preaching that's in chapter
two sister Acts chapter 2. I'll come back to
that scripture. I'll come back to the scripture.
Let's stay on this first. Then I'll come back
to Acts. Acts 2. Okay, Acts 2, 20, right? 22,
okay. We say, ye men of Israel, hear these words.
Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God. Okay,
a man approved of God, which is declared of God,
right, by the signs and wonders that follow.
So that's the word we said is actually declaring.
Now, back to Mark 16, 20. They went out and preached
everywhere, the Lord walking with them and confirming
the word, right? Through the accompanying of
signs. Amen. Now this can be termed as the entire
book of Acts. So we can say that the summary
of the entire book of Acts is Mark 16, 20. Because
what they did in the entire book of Acts was
they went about preaching the word of God everywhere.
You remember from Jerusalem, right? To Samaria,
to Judea, to everywhere where they went to. So
they went about preaching the word and the Lord
was confirming their sign. So that is why in
the book of Acts, okay? In the book of Acts,
most of what we are written, right? We are things
that we are seen physically. He had a lot of
what we call the eyewitness accounts. Why? Because
these signs and wonders were a whole lot in that
place. So we see that when someone gets healed,
when someone is raised from the dead, when someone
is, we see it written just the way it's taken
place. So the book of Acts is actually the, we
can say the activities of the apostles, right?
signs and wonders following. Signs and wonders
following. So we see that it's exactly the summary
of the entire term. I think the only thing that
we'll be missing there is persecution. You know,
the only thing that is missing there is persecution,
which is what comes with the preaching of the
gospel. But we see that this is the entirety
of the entire summary of the book of Acts because
they went about preaching the gospel and you'll
see, Thousands were believing. Thousands were
turning to God. The number of the disciples increased
as the word of God multiplied, right? The number
of the disciples increased as the word of God
multiplied. So, the word working with them is
the word sonegio. We can write it down. Sonegio,
S -U -N -E -R. S -U -N -E -R -G -E -O. Which
means to team up with them. To corroborate what
they are doing. To team up with them. To work
together with the people. To walk together with
the people. So God was walking with them, was
teaming up with them and confirming, right? And
confirming the word. So the word confirming,
the word confirming, I don't know, I'm just going
to spell it because No, like we said, this is
not a language, but this is where the scripture
has been written. Is be bio, B -E -B -A -I -O
-O. B -E -B -A -I -O -O. B -E -B -A -I -O -O.
So confirming, which simply means to ratify something.
To ratify something. To ratify something. To
ratify something. It also means to put something
into effect, right? Also means to put something
into effect. To put something into effect. To
authenticate something, right? To authenticate
something. Palm, what they are doing. So, what
it simply means is that while they are preaching
the gospel, right, while they are teaching and
they are raising disciples, in the course of
that, right, you will see that the apostles will
make a statement, right, and you will see healing
take place. You will see them say, rise and walk.
Right? And you will see that statement. In the
midst of their going everywhere to preach the
gospel. So their words, what they say, what they
do to reveal Christ to people, right, is confirmed.
Means it's authenticated by the signs and wonders.
So we see Acts, right? Acts 5, Acts 5 verse 12.
We see Acts 5 verse 12. He said, by the hands
of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought
among the people. And there were always one accord
in the Solomon's porch. Right? He said, many
signs and wonders were carried out by the hands
of the apostles. At 5 .15, same 5 .15 to 16.
15 to 16. He said, in so much that they brought
forth the sick into the streets and laid them
on beds and couches, that at least, at least,
it shows you how the miraculous was so available,
so much available. People were seeing it and
believing it. That at least, not by laying of
hands, but by the presence of a man passing.
He said, by at least the shadow of Peter passing
by. So we see God backing up the preaching of
the gospel by these signs and wonders. Authenticating.
the signs, or let's get the preaching of words
by the signs and wonders. Right. Acts 19 verse
11. Acts 19 verse 11. Start from verse 10. Right.
We start from verse 10. And this continued by
the space of two years. so that all they which
dwell in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus,
both Jews and Greeks. Right? But let's take a
little bit back. Let's see what was happening
there. Let's see from verse 1. Maybe we can find
something. It said, And it came to pass that
while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed
through the upper coast, came to Ephesus. And
finding certain disciples, he said unto them,
Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye have
believed? And they said unto him, We have not
so much heard of whether there be any Holy Ghost.
And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye
baptized? And they said unto him, John's baptism.
Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the
baptism of repentance, saying unto the people
that they should believe on him which should
come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When
they heard this, they were baptized in the name
of the Lord. So, a clarity of the gospel, right?
Clarify the gospel to them. Preach to them, right?
That the preaching that took place there taught
them much more in clarity. So, we see him preaching
them. Verse 6 says, And when Paul had laid hands
on them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they
spoke with tongues and prophesied. And all the
men were about twelve. And they went into the
synagogue and spoke boldly for the space of three
months. So we are seeing somebody's labor in
preaching. Someone's labor in preaching. Meeting
people who seem to have received the word, but
clarified the gospel unto them. And we see him
again going into the synagogue and in the space
of three months preaching, disputing and persuading.
the things concerning the kingdom of God. So
it was engaging people, right? Engaging people.
Now let's see what happened as a result of this.
He said, but when divers were hardened, right?
He said, but when divers were hardened and they
believed not, they believed not, but spoke evil
of the way before the multitude, it departed
from them and separated the disciples, distinctly
in the school of one. And this continued by the
space of two years so that that we dwell in Asia
had the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and
Greeks. So we see him preaching, laboring in
the place of preaching the gospel. And God wrote
special miracles by the hands of Paul so that
from his body were brought unto the sick, handkerchiefs
or aprons. and diseases departed from them, and
the evil spirit went out of them. So while he
was preaching, people believe in the miraculous,
they receive it. They receive it. So we see that
in the place of preaching the gospel, we see
the miraculous taking place. We see people believing,
people believing as has been taught and as has
been wrought. Acts chapter 8, verse 5 to 8, I
think we have. Acts chapter 8 verse 5 to 8. which
he did. For unclean spirits, the same, you know,
similar narrative of what happened when Paul's
shadow was passing, Peter's shadow was passing,
Paul's handkerchief was being taken. Unclean
spirits crying out with loud voice came out of
many that were possessed with them. And many
taken with palsies, and they that were lame were
healed. And there was what? There was great joy
in what? in that city. So this is what we say
every Sunday, right? We say it, right? We say
we do what? We bring great joy to cities. We
bring great joy to where? To cities. So what
did we see that is taking place? Preaching of
the word and the miraculous. Bringing great joy
to cities. So it means that if you really want
to bring great joy to cities, we must avail ourselves
to walk in the miraculous. If truly we want to
bring great joy to cities, we will not just say
we will go and preach and not expect the miraculous,
but expect it in abundance. So as we are going
to preach, we want to bring great joy to cities,
we will expect the miraculous. So this is the
way by which we can bring great joy to cities.
So we see that the preaching of the gospel and
the miraculous, they go together. They go together
and it's a mark of the gospel, bringing great
joy to cities. The second one is that miraculous
is also for the believers. For the believers,
I already said that on Sunday, but we should
talk about it again. Remember that firstly, the
working of miracles as a word or as a phrase,
Firstly, the walking of miracles as a phrase
will be found in where? 1 Corinthians 12, which
is a letter written to a church. We see that
it's found in the place where a letter, Paul's
letter to the Corinthian church. So it therefore
means that in that sense, the believers in that
church should or are beneficiaries of the walking
of miracles as well. because it's written to
them, right? So they can walk in miracles among
themselves in that church. So that is the first
thing that we'll see, that the context of it,
the context of that chapter 12 is that it's written
to a church. And it is that it is for the what?
The benefit of all. Let's go to 1 Corinthians
12. Let's go to 1 Corinthians 12. 1 Corinthians
12. So now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren,
I would have you, I would not have you ignorant.
So he doesn't want him to be unaware. Yet ye
know that ye were Gentiles carried away unto
these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore
I give you to understand that no man speaking
by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed.
And no man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by
the Holy Spirit. Now there are diversity of gifts,
but the same Spirit. And there are differences
of administration, but the same Lord. And there
are diversity of operations, but it is the same
God who worketh all in all. But the manifestation
of the Spirit is given to every man, right, to
profit. So, we see that it is written to a church,
right? It's expecting that they will walk in
the things of the Spirit. It's expecting that
they will be edified walking in the things of
the Spirit. They will be strengthened walking
in the things of the Spirit. And that includes
verse 10, which says, to another the walking
of miracles. So he's expecting that they would
also be beneficiaries of this. All right. Then
we see Acts 12, verse 1 to 11. Acts 12, verse
1 to 11. We read this on Sunday already. Across
the scripture, just put James 5, 16. James 5,
16. Acts 12, verse 11. James 5, 16. Now we can
go to verse 5 of that chapter because we're already
on Sunday already. It said, Peter therefore was
kept in the prison, but prayer was made without
ceasing. of the church unto God for him, right?
Prayers were made. So they prayed for Peter and
the miraculous happened. And verse 11 says, and
when Peter was come to himself, he said, now
I know of a surety that the angel, that the Lord
has sent his angel and has delivered me out of
the hand of Aaron. This is a miracle, right?
This is a clear miracle, church praying. a believer,
an apostle receiving. So it's not just that we
will preach for you as leaders and you will receive,
but that you also will pray for us as your pastors
to enjoy the miraculous. Do we get it? So it's
not a one -way thing. It's not every time you
come here, you know, we lay hands on you, you
will go and we will not be edified. But that's
you as, the disciple of Christ, as a follower
of Christ, will also pray for your leaders to
enjoy the miraculous. So there's no monopoly
of walking of miracles. There's no monopoly of
it. It has to be the leaders. It has to be the
apostles only. No. An apostle was just delivered
by the prayers of his church. Right? So we are
very humble. We are very receptive to your prayers.
So you ministering to us. And you know, in this
church, this is one of the things we emphasize
that you can work in the things of, that's why
we are teaching it, that you can work in it.
We can also be beneficiaries of it. So it's irrespective
of, irrespective of your leadership position
in church, every believer can receive and can
give it, can minister it. Alright, the third
one. The third one. The miraculous is demonstrated.
I can write it down. The miraculous is demonstrated
in casting out devils. The miraculous is demonstrated
in casting out devils so that the delivered can
hear and believe the gospel. The miraculous is
demonstrated in casting out of devils so that
the delivered, the one that is delivered, can
hear and believe the gospel. And be a disciple.
You should add that. Of course, believing the
gospel, I just wanted us to extend it because
of the scripture we are going to read. And be
a disciple means following Jesus and preaching
the gospel. Luke chapter 8. Luke chapter 8. Luke
chapter 8. Let's see. Why the miraculous? Luke
chapter 8. Why the miraculous? It said, And it
came to pass afterward that it went throughout
every city and village, preaching and showing
the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. and the
twelve were with him. And certain women, okay,
the twelve were with him, and certain women,
which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities.
Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven
devils. And Joanna, the wife of Shuzah, heralded
stewards. And Susanna, and many others which
ministered unto him of their substance. Right?
Ministered unto him of what? Of their substance.
He said, women. And he just named a few of them.
Right? He just named three. Right? We see three
there. So, we see three there. And these three,
at this point where this message was being reported,
were they disciples or were they still possessed
by demons? They were disciples. Okay? They were
disciples. So, they were delivered of evil spirit
and they became disciples. They became disciples.
Certain women which were healed of evil spirit
and infirmities. So, when people are delivered
from demons and evil spirits, they are supposed
to become disciples. That is what we want them
to become. So you have to preach to them. You
know, we have to preach to them and tell them,
you see, this is what has happened to you. This
is by the power of God. And this is what God
wants you to do. Right? So it's not like we are
doing freelance. You know, you just go, you just
heal. You let the person go. You just go, just
cast out demons. And you just smile, you know.
You are enjoying the feel like some people will
say. But rather, as that miraculous is taking
place in the life of that person, you are ready
to preach to the person. You are ready to preach
to the person. So it is that they will become
disciples. They will believe the gospel. And
they will preach the same thing. They will preach
the same thing. Let's go to Acts 16. Acts 16.
The miraculous brings people into discipleship
as they have been healed, as they have been delivered.
Acts 16. Then came he, okay, we'll go to verse
30 and 35. He said, then came he to Deb and Lysra
and built a certain disciple where they are named
Timotheus, the son of a certain man, which was
a Jewess. Married in the right place. Yes. And
believe, and believe. But his father was a Greek.
I think we can skip this part. We gotta go to
verse 11. Right, 16, we can go to verse 11. He
said, therefore, losing from trials, we came
with a straight course to Samutrashyap and the
next day to Neapolis. And from thence to Philpab,
which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia
and a colony. And we were in that city abiding
certain days. And on a Sabbath, we went out of
the city by a riverside where prayers... was
wounds to be made. And we sat down and spoke
unto the woman which resorted, Theta. And a certain
woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the
city of Tythera, which worshipped God, heard
us, whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended
unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And
when she was baptized, and her household, she
besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to
be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and
abide there. And she constrained us. So we see
then that they preached on household and they
believed. Now in the course of that, not directly,
but in the course of that, we see that something
took place from verse 30 to 35. We can read from...
From verse 22. So after preaching the gospel
in the house of Lydia, a whole household saved.
Right? You should know what follows. In verse
22 it says, And the multitude rose up together
against them, and the magistrates ranked off
their robe and commanded to beat them. And when
they had laid many stripes on them, they cast
them into the prison, charging the jailer to
keep them safely. who haven't received such a
charge, thrust them into the inner prison and
made their feet fast in the stocks. And admitted,
Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God,
and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there
was a great earthquake, so that the foundation
of the prison were shaken, and immediately all
the doors were opened, and everyone, everyone's
bands were loose. It's not just Paul and... Silas
the Lord. Everyone found were what? Were loose.
And the keeper of the prison awoken. So this
is a miraculous in a circumstance, right? Miraculous
taking place in a circumstance and among a people
there. And the keeper of the prison awoken out
of sleep, seeing that the prison doors open,
he drew out a sword and would have killed himself.
Supposing that the prisoners had fled. But Paul
cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no
harm, for we are all here. Then he called for
a light and sprang in and came trembling and
fell down before Paul and Silas and brought them
out and said, Sars, what must I do to be what?
To be saved. He did not ask them, How did the
chains break off? Right? He did not ask them,
How were the doors opened? Right? He did not
ask them, How is it that it's not just you and
Silas, but everybody in this prison, their chains
were broken? It tells us what should be the position
of someone who is delivered, right? He's not
delivered from evil spirit, but he was delivered
from killing himself, right? If Paul had not
shouted, he would have committed suicide or he
would have been executed. Having known the people
who had handed over Paul and Silas to them and
having known, that they had caused trouble in
their cities. In fact, they put them in the innermost
prison. So look at the position of someone who
was delivered from killing himself, right? More
like delivered from death. He said, what can
I do to be saved? So when the miraculous takes
place, it is that the person who is delivered
from evil spirit or is delivered from a circumstance,
right? Must ask, what must I do to be saved?
The person does not have... You tell the person
you need to be saved. Right? You need to be saved.
So many years ago, actually, before I had this
understanding, I had many people around me, right,
growing up, that they pray for unbelievers and
miraculous happens. Right? They just meet an
unbeliever. They just pray for the person and
the person gets healed and go. But some of them,
interestingly, they can be from another entire
religion. So I saw that consistently. So my question
when I became much, when I grew up, why are we
healing them and they are not part of this house?
That was my question. Why are we healing them?
Why are we praying for them? Why are we doing
all of this when they are not even part of this
house? Or why should we even preach to them and
pray for them to get healed and we let them go?
I started questioning that. And the first position
I took was, we are not praying for them again.
Let's wait first. That was my first position
for a couple of years. I'm like, why should we
pray for someone from another religion that is
sick? Because I was just seeing, we're just healing
them and they are going and they're not hearing
the gospel. But when I started understanding
the signs and wonders that accompany the preaching
of the gospel, I understood that the job will
be complete where they are healed and they are
preached to. Right? So the problem is not healing
them or giving them the word or giving them a
revelation from God. Sometimes you can even receive
direction for them. Interesting, you will receive
direction. I mean, things in the natural and
you will tell them this is it and it would be
as you have spoken because you carry the Spirit
of God, right? So in such circumstances, we must
also be able to preach to them and tell them,
this is by the Spirit of God, right? Otherwise,
we will not be different from motivational speakers.
That's the point. We will not be different from
any inspiration out there. Because the person
will not understand where your inspiration is
coming from. The person will just say, oh. This
guy is just one of those guys, anything he says,
I just get inspired. When he just says something,
it just comes to pass in my life. And they will
keep coming around because they want to feed
on what you have. But you must feed them what?
With the gospel. We must feed them. Like this
is what we have to do. We must feed them with
the gospel. As much as they are injured, we must
preach to them. We must tell them, you need to
be saved. Right? You can enjoy these signs and
wonders and you don't belong to the family. You're
not safe. You don't have eternal life in you.
So we have to preach to them as they are being
delivered, right, from circumstances and things
around. Now, the fourth one, the fourth one,
which is going to take us a little bit, almost
throughout the end of this teaching, is that
the miraculous helps us to address opposition
to the preaching of the gospel. The miraculous
can help us to address opposition to the preaching
of the gospel. The miraculous can help us to
address opposition to the preaching of the gospel.
Acts 16, verse 19. Acts 16, verse... Let's start
from verse 16. It said that it came to pass as
we went to pray, a certain damsel possessed with
the spirit of divination met us. We brought what?
Our masters much gain. By what? By soothsaying.
By soothsaying. Brought much gain to our master.
By soothsaying. This is an opposition to the
gospel. You know why? Because he is like Simon
that was considered the great the great sorcerer
until Philip appeared. So Simon was considered
the greatest of all time until Philip appeared.
That was an opposition. How can I put it? Any
standing that is against the power of God and
is being exalted there is an opposition to the
gospel. Because you need the miraculous to clear
their eyes and then they will see the message
of the gospel. And we see that in the case of
Philip. So here again, we see an opposition,
you know, this guy has been making money, right,
from this damn cell. The same followed Paul and
us. And Christ was saying, these men are the
servants of the most high God, right? We dealt
with this last Sunday, right? This statement
does not mean she is saved, but it's definitely
an opposition. He said, which show us the way
of salvation. Right? Well, she's not in the way
of salvation. Neither are our owners in the way
of salvation. And this she did many days. But
Paul being grieved, turned and said to the spirit.
So it was a spirit at work. I command thee in
the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.
And he. came out the same hour. And when the
master saw that the hope of their gains were
gone, they called Paul and Silas and drew them
into the marketplace, onto the ruler. So what
we see there is that Paul was preaching and there
was someone distracting, right? A distraction.
So we can cast that out, right? We can cast that
out in that sense. So we see that Paul did not
kill her. Paul did not harm her, right? But Paul
actually cast out the demon. So let's go to Acts
13, 6 -12. Acts 13, 6 -12. And when they had
gone through the eyes of Paphos, they found a
sudden sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose
name was Bar -Jesus. which was with the deputy
of the country, Sardius Paulus, a prudent man
who called for Barnabas and Saul and desired
to hear the word of God. But Elymas, the sorcerer,
for Saul is his name by interpretation, withstood
them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the
faith. Right? A sorcerer seeking to turn away
the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, whose name
was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost,
set his eyes on him, and said, O fool of all
subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the
devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt
thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the
Lord? And now behold, the hand of the Lord is
upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing
the sun for a season. And immediately there fell
on him a mist. and a darkness. And he went about
seeking some to lead him by the hand. Now we
see the miraculous taking place here, right?
Is it a miraculous taking place here? Yes, it's
the miraculous taking place. There's an opposition
to the gospel and Paul spoke a word, right? Paul
spoke a word and that word causing to be blind
for a season, right? To be blind for a season.
Now, this blindness, We must pay attention to
it because he said for a season, right? It means
that it's not that his eyeballs fell off, neither
were his eyes bleeding, right? But the eyes were
there but could not see for a season. Why? So
that the person Paul is preaching to can receive
the message of the gospel, right? So we'll see
it in verse 12. Look at verse 12. Verse 12 says,
then, after this guy had been taken out of the
way, the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed,
being astonished, at the doctrine of the Lord.
So, two things. He saw the miraculous and he
heard the doctrine. He saw the miraculous, he
was astonished, he heard the doctrine and he
believed. Right. So, it means that in certain
situations, we can do such. But we need to be
careful. Now, Paul did not harm him. Just like
I said, Paul did not harm the other lady, right?
Paul did not harm him. Paul did not say, be blind
and let your eyes not see again. But Paul gave
an instruction that he might be able not to see
for a season. It means that after a season, he
will be able to see, right? That is what it means.
Now, this is similar to what happens to Apostle
Paul, right? when he had an encounter on his
way to Damascus, right? So we can see Acts 8,
9 to 13. Just pay attention to that being blind
for a season. So this is not killing the person.
This is not harming the person, but doing something,
right, that will make the person go out of the
way. Okay, this is... This is the story of Simon.
Acts 9. Let's go to Acts 9. Just move to the
next page. Acts 9, from verse 4 to 8. And he
fell to the earth and heard the voice saying,
Soul, soul, what persecuted thou me? And he said,
Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus,
whom thou persecuted. It is hard for thee to
kick against the priest. And trembling and astonished,
said, Lord, what would thou have me to do? And
the Lord said, Arise and go on into the city,
and it shall be unto thee, it shall be told to
thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed
with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but
seeing no man. Verse 8. And Saul arose from the
earth, and when his eyes were opened, he did
what? He saw no man. He saw who? No man. He saw
no man. Now go to verse 15 and 16. But the Lord
said unto him, this is Ananias, right? But the
Lord said unto him, go thy way for Paul, that
he is Paul. For Paul is a chosen vessel unto
me to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings
and the children of Israel. For I will show him
how great things they must suffer for my sake,
for my name's sake. That's four. Verse 17. And
Ananias went his way. and entered into the house,
and putting his hand on him, he said, Brother
Paul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto
thee in the way, as thou camest and sent me,
that thou mightest receive thy sight, be filled
with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell
from his eyes, as it has been, what? Scales.
So will you say Jesus blind Paul? Right? And
Bo was not able to see forever. No. It means
that he had a miraculous encounter, right, that
stopped him from going ahead to persecute the
church. And how that took place was that something
physical that was stopping him from progressing
in doing that took place. But that was just for
what? A season. He did no harm to his eyes because
he received his eyes, he received his sight back.
So similarly, right, in the case of Elemas, we
see that he was blind for a season. For a season
and afterwards, they could see again. Right?
They could see again. So it means that we can
put in the miraculous, not to harm people, but
to disrupt things around them, right, when they
are opposing the gospel. when they are opposing
the gospel. We can, I mean, we can pray people
away from positions where they stood against
the gospel. And that can happen. They can be
changed. Things can happen. They can decide to
leave the place themselves. So this is the miraculous
power. So what we see here is that the body was
no harm. The physical body was no harm. But the
physical body could not function for a season.
Okay? The eyes could not function for... So this
is a miraculous intervention in the case when
the gospel is being opposed. Now let's find a
few exceptions and we'll just spend some time
on that and close. 2 Kings 1 .6 -5 2 Kings 1
.6 -5 So we are not praying for people to lose
their sight forever, to die or to break their
bones. No, we're not praying for that because
Jesus is showing a pattern, right? He's teaching
us a pattern. So from chapter 1, verse 6 to 15,
it said, And they said unto him, There came a
man up to meet us and said unto us, Go and turn
again unto the king. that sent you. And say unto
him, Thus says the Lord, Is it because there
is no God in Israel that thou sendest to inquire
of Beelzebub, the God of Ekron? Therefore thou
shalt not come down from the bed on which thou
hast gone up, but thou shalt surely die. Right?
Thou shalt surely die. Now, this is a pattern
that is, you can see it in the Old Testament,
what we call the Old Testament text. But when
we pay attention, To the epistles, to the gospels,
we don't find such pattern. Do we get it? The
pattern, well, the first thing you have to check
is that what the prophets Elijah said, was it
wrong? No, the first statement was not wrong.
The statement that, is it that there's no God
in Israel that you go about seeking an idol?
So that's a good statement, right? It's more
or less, we can say it's also more or less propagating
the gospel, meaning that there is God, right?
You should hear from the God of Israel, not going
after idols. So that's very justified, right?
That is very justified. So is there no God? Now,
the question is, how did the prophets, right?
How did the prophets function and address? Now,
in the New Testament text, definitely you would
know. that what will happen is that healing will
take place and the people will believe, right?
Did you see that pattern consistently? Healing
will take place and the people will believe.
The people will be delivered from evil spirits
and they will believe. But here, something different
happened, which Jesus also referred to. The prophet
actually said, the king himself should die, right?
That is the first thing. Now look at subsequent
statements that followed. Look at subsequent
statements that followed. He said unto them,
What manner of man was he which came up to meet
you? Verse 7. And told you these words. And they
answered him, He was a hairy man gilded with
gildo of leather about his loins. And he said,
It is Elijah the Tishbite. And the king sent
unto him a captain of fifty, which is fifty.
And he went up to him, and behold, he sat on
the top of the hill, and he spake unto him, Thou,
O man of God, the king hath said, Come down.
And Elijah answered and said to the captain of
fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come
down from heaven and consume thee, and thy fifty.
And there came fire down from heaven and consumed
him and his fifty. And again also, He sent unto
him another captain of 50 with 50. And he answered
and said unto him, O man of God, just said the
king, come down quickly. And Elijah said unto
them, if I be a man of God, let fire come down
from heaven and consume thee and thy 50. And
fire from of God, as written here, came down
from heaven and consumed him and the 50. And
13 again. Now until... And he sent again a captain
of the third 50 with 50. And the third captain
of 50 went up and came and fell on his knees
before Elijah and besought him and said to him,
O man of God, I pray thee. Now he pleaded, let
my life and the life of this 50 thy servant be
precious in their sight. What's a wise captain?
A wise captain did that. Now the question is,
Can we say this is the miraculous? Can we say
this is the miraculous? Okay. Don't forget the
miraculous. Let's now pick it together. The miraculous
is taking place through the spirit of Christ.
Are we together? Are we all on the same page
on that? That the miraculous takes place through
the spirit of Christ. That is why. From beginning,
I will not have you to be ignorant. Things concerning
spiritual. So the miraculous takes place through
the spirit of Christ. Right? We see that. Now,
two things has been mentioned here. The king
should die and the 50 died. Of course, the king
is still a prophecy. The other one is already
taking place. Can the spirit of Christ produce
death? That becomes the question. Can the Spirit
of Christ produce death? Now, this is one of
the places where the disciples understood this
power. There was still something that happened
there. And they wanted to work in the power of
Elijah. Luke 9, verse 51. Let's go to Luke 9,
verse 51. Amidst all the things that happened
in the Old Testament, this was one that was supposedly
desired by the disciples. To be practiced. So
Luke 9, 51 to 56. The disciples desired. Now
look at the context. It's also like an opposition
to the gospel. This one also is like opposition
to the serving and worship of God. Luke chapter
9 is also similar. Opposition to what Christ
wants to do. He said, and it came to pass. When
the time was come. that he should be what? Received
of. Right? So he's talking about the death, burial
and resurrection of Christ. He stood by the side
of his face to go to Jerusalem. Verse 52. And
sent messengers before his face and they went
and entered into a village of the Samaritans
to make ready for him. 53. Look at the offense.
And they did not receive him because his face
was as though he would go to Jerusalem. So it
means that in a place it was not received. And
the disciples said what? And when the disciples,
James and John, saw this, you won't receive the
Lord. They said, Lord, without that, we command
fire to come down from heaven and consume them,
even as Elias did. So, some people, right, are
opposing. So he sent messengers to them and went
to the village to make ready for him. So they're
not ready to make ready for Christ. That's all
I can say. So they're not receiving Christ. They're
not giving him an attention. They're not allowing
him to come into their cities. We have this opposition.
Can we just call down fire? Just like Elias did.
And just clear this city. And show them that
there is God in Israel. because of course that
was what Elijah was trying to prove by cursing
the death of the king and cursing the 50 to die.
Can we just show them that there's God in Israel
by sending down fire? But look at what Jesus
responded, which is crucial. He said, but he
turned and rebuked them and said, ye know not
what manner of spirit ye are. For the son of
man is not come to destroy man's life, but to
save them. And what did Jesus do? He went to
another village. Did you see that? Jesus moved
on to another village. That was his response.
He moved on to another village. So, starting
from what Elias did. Jesus said that he's literally
saying that Elias' example in what he did is
not an example to you. That is not the pattern
you would follow. as my disciples, as those who
would carry my message, that is not the pattern
you would follow. So that was just it. So you
don't know what manner of spirit you are of.
That if you will walk in the spirit of Christ,
it does not function this way. It does not use
death to cause people even in the point of opposition
to the gospel. That's what he just said, right?
He's not going to use, he's not going to cost
debts to people even when they are opposing.
So, the difference, right, in what we saw that
happened to Elymas, that happened to Paul, right,
is that in their lives, they continued their
life afterwards. They had the privilege to hear
the gospel. They had the privilege because they
were not blind forever. Paul had the privilege.
We can see how that ended. And it took time to
write the entire, you know, most of the epistles.
So it shows that the man himself was not destroyed,
but he remained a vessel that can be used by
God. But in this context, when men are destroyed,
right, especially those who are in unbelief and
in opposition to the gospel, They add nothing
to the kingdom. Do we get it? They add nothing
to the kingdom. So it therefore teaches us to
pray, right? It teaches us and shape our prayer
life that when we pray, right? For those who
hate us, those who oppose the gospel, those who
stop us, right? From doing what God has called
us to do. It is not to pray for them. that they
would die to the point where they wouldn't receive
the gospel. I mean, that is what Jesus is saying.
So his desire is that as much as they oppose
you, they must be saved. So looking from the
example of Paul, it means that we can pray that
they can be blind for a season. They can be taken
out of space. The natural circumstances around
them can take them away. Natural circumstances
can shift them away so that you can function.
Not that they would lose their life, but circumstances
around them would change their trajectory so
that you can preach the gospel, so that you can
live the life that Christ has called you to live.
Your prayer still for them is that they will
be saved. Do we get it? So the miraculous will
not cause deaths. That's it. The miraculous will
not cause death. Whatever caused death, we have
to investigate it. Whatever caused death. Even
if the person says, in the name of Jesus, we
need to investigate it. Don't forget, someone
was saying these are the servants of the living
God and she was fully possessed and she was,
you know, one supplying money to her owners.
If you read that statement alone, you would think
she's saved. So, math statements does not really
emphasize. So, what I'm trying to say is that
We must know how to pray while we are desiring
the miraculous. Now, when prayer was made for
Paul, it is not that the gods should die. We've
never seen that in active, that none of them
pray that Herod should die. None of them pray
that the jailer should die. None of them pray
that it is always that Paul will be delivered.
And that is why we pray that prayer that will
be delivered from unreasonable men. Right? Because
not all men have what? Faith. It means that there
are people who are faithless, right? They would
want to oppose you all the time. But your prayer
for them is that you are regularly delivered.
If you read the entire book of Acts, you will
see how God regularly delivers Paul from the
hands of his enemies. Right? Through different
circumstances. So our prayers as believers is
that we will know how to, we will pray in a direction
that will still preserve life that men can be
saved. That men can be saved. You can put this
other one's scripture down. Let's also clear
this one before we go. Exodus 22 verse 18. Exodus
22, verse 18. Exodus 22, verse 18. This is one
other scripture in the Old Testament that actually
shows something about God. Now, Exodus 22, verse
18. Is anybody there? We will pray that they
will be blind for a season. We will pray that
they would not have capacity to come out when
we are preaching. We will pray that they would
be distracted. Are we there? 22 verse 18. He
said, thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
Right? You can read from verse 16. And if a man
is saying, okay, I think those are just part
of the law. Just that verse 18. He said, thou
shalt not suffer a witch to live. It therefore
means that, because this is one of the scriptures
that people say, well, Moses wrote, right? That
we should not allow a sorcerer to live. But all
the sorcerers that we have been reading in the
New Testament, none of them were killed. Are
we together? None of Olimaz was not killed. The
lady was not killed. The one that the damsel
was not killed. So we did not find anywhere in
the New Testament text where sorcerers are being
killed. But rather, they are being delivered.
Do we get it? They are being delivered and they
come to the knowledge. Right? The women that
were delivered from evil spirits, they came to
the knowledge of God. Now, so what is the problem?
It therefore means that, of course, as we are
teaching, we are going to teach the law, why
Moses wrote more than one. But here, one of the
things that we can pay attention here is that
because this statement was mentioned only once
in the entire, Old Testament and the New Testament,
we cannot use it as a measure or what would determine
what we pray. It was mentioned once in an entire
Bible, so it cannot stand as the basis of how
we pray, to pray that a witch should die. So
it means that your prayer life is not built on
one verse. Look at how we moved from prayer was
made for Paul, or for Peter rather, and how we
connected it to James, right? And there are several
scriptures that teaches us that we will and can
be delivered by the power of prayer. But here,
there are no scriptures that consistently follow
this pattern. Well, rather, we've seen several
scriptures that consistently show how sorcerers
are being delivered. Therefore, Where would your
doctrine be? On the one or on the several that
shows how the witch is being delivered? On the
several. That is what they call in, how would
I put it? I said, there has to be witnessing
scriptures to what you practice. You must have
witnessing scriptures. So if you are practicing
something as a believer, there have to be witnessing
scriptures to that thing. You cannot use one
scripture. If one or two or three scriptures
does not solidly establish, we cannot pick up
that. So that was just once across the scripture
and the New Testament, we never found such a
practice again. So, I think we'll stop here for
today, right? My prayer is just that as we go...
That you'll pray for yourself that I know how
to walk in the miraculous. I know how to pray
to make the miraculous take place. I will not
cause that. I don't cause that. I cause life
to be established. I cause people to come to
the knowledge of Jesus. We appreciate you being
here today. We hope you carry this word with
you throughout your week. Until next time, stay
blessed.