Mark 16:17-18 (KJV) says: And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up *serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
*Taking up serpents here means demons/devils as in the previous verse.
I use to get all excited about the topic “Heaven” because I wanted to know what was coming in the next life—so I read a bunch of books on Heaven. HOWEVER—I came to the conclusion that my focus was all messed up—it was not the PLACE I needed to be excited about—it was the PERSON of HEAVEN—the CREATOR of Heaven HIMSELF—WHO is CHRIST.
Then I pursued CHRIST and even as wonderful as reading about Heaven was—it was a much inferior pursuit to CHRIST—above all other pursuits as well. So when I focused in on KNOWING more about CHRIST, reading my Bible more, spending more time praying, and attempting to have a relationship with HIM: you know making HIM welcome in your presence all day long—I began to notice something. I noticed that Mark 16:17-18 was happening in my life—daily experiencing the miraculous—some would say the “supernatural” or the gifts of the SPIRIT.
I realized that when you hang out with GOD and put HIM on the throne of your heart—you can’t help but to come in contact with the supernatural. It’s like if you hang out with a pro basketball player—you are probably going to get free basketballs, shirts and those foam fingers….(best example I could think of).
Now let me make it perfectly clear—VERSE 17 SAYS: And these signs shall follow them that believe. The key word here is FOLLOW. It is essential that you are not pursuing spiritual experiences—even putting HIGHER SPIRITUAL HIGHS up as idols. If you are doing it right—you should be enthralled with CHRIST—and the SUPERNATURAL experiences should just be a sign that your BEST FRIEND is GOD and you can’t help but see these things manifest because GOD is SUPERNATURAL and when you are near HIM the SUPERNATURAL IS SUPERNORMAL.
This video series below is about “Spiritual Gifts and their Purpose” and what the many gifts are that are given by the HOLY SPIRIT. You can pray and ask for spiritual gifts—but the gifts are given exclusively by the HOLY SPIRIT to whom HE chooses and WHEN HE chooses. Some people pursue gifts because they think it is a sign of salvation or they feel they need them to “belong” with a particular group of believers…I say: don’t worry about the gifts—PURSUE GOD AND THESE SIGNS WILL FOLLOW. Don’t pursue the gifts—PURSUE the GIVER of the gifts…-Susan Davis…
