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IS THERE ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO CONVICT YOU OF BEING A BELIEVER?
Kris Vallotton
April 8, 2016
Jesus said, “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mark16:16-18
Jesus’ exhortation is alarming for all of us! It causes my imagination to explode with possibilities. Four things immediately jump out at me:
1. According to Jesus, if I “believe” then there will supernatural signs that follow me.
2. Jesus’ idea of “believing” is much more than embracing a set of doctrines that I agree with or philosophies I adhere to. “Believing” requires action and experience.
3. Supernatural signs follow “Believers,” not just leaders, apostles or prophets. I mean, these signs are not relegated to a special class of elect citizens of heaven.
4. Supernatural signs are also timeless. Jesus didn’t say, “These signs will follow first century Believers.” He said these signs will follow “those who believe.”
Wow! What would happen if every Believer in the world actually demonstrated the raw power of God everywhere they went? Can you say “OVERLOAD!”
But what do these “signs” look like? Let’s do a little investigation together.
1. Power over demons. Believers have been given authority and power over all the power of the demonic world. Now that’s good news!
2. Believers will be given new heavenly languages. It’s great be able to communicate with angels in their language – a vocabulary that the demonic realm doesn’t know. It also important to note that in the book of Acts chapter 2, many people spoke in human languages that they supernaturally acquired by the Holy Spirit.
3. Believers have power over nature: both the animal/reptile/fish kingdom (serpents), and the biological kingdom (deadly poison).
4. Believers have the power to heal diseases (lay hands on the sick and they recover). It’s important to note here that Jesus never told Believers to pray for the sick! He said “Heal the sick.”
Many people read these verses and compare their walk to His call. They immediately begin to reduce the words of Jesus to their meager experience, knowing that they are Believers, yet recognizing that the only signs that follow them are scripture memorization and witnessing.
This usually leads to some pretty intense mental gymnastics to try to justify why these scriptures don’t apply to them.
But what would happen if instead of reducing the scriptures to our experience, we raised our experience to the standard of the words of Jesus?
“Impossible!'” Some protest. “Humans can’t do miracles!
Unless they can! U-N-L-E-S-S they can!!!
I mean, what if Jesus is right? What if God is really in us – I’m saying what if the God, who created everything and has ALL power, actually wants to demonstrate to the world His amazing power through us – all of us?
Can we really do all things through Christ who lives in us?
For me, it all boils down to one question: is there enough evidence to convict me of being a “Believer” in the courts of Heaven? Would my attorney, Jesus, be able to successfully prove to the Father, beyond a reasonable doubt, that I am a “Believer” and not just a Christian? I hope so!
Profound, yet simple.
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What about you? Is there enough evidence to convict you of being a believer? Let me know in the comments below.
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