Marching orders for those who believe God’s word

This was written 20 years ago … sorry for the delay in sharing it with you!

For those who believe in the Word (Jesus) and in the word (the Bible) …

Jesus was ANOINTED with power and authority over everything
Luke 4:18 -- “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me (Jesus), because He has
anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives (of Satan) and recovery
of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed (by Satan)”
Acts 10:38 -- “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with
power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed
by the devil, for God was with Him.”

Jesus PROVED His power and authority over everything
Matt 4:24 -- “… and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted
with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed,
epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.”
Matt 8:16-17 -- “… they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed.
And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick”

Jesus GAVE power and authority to His disciples
Matt 10:1 -- “And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him,
He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out,
and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.”
Luke 9:1-2 -- “(He) gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure
diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.”
Luke 10:1-20 -- “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also
… “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions,
and over all the power of the enemy … the spirits are subject to you”

Jesus COMMANDED all disciples to use their power and authority
Matt 28:18-20 -- “And Jesus came and spoke to them (His 11 disciples),
saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations …
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Re: the italics above: disciples were to heal the sick, cast out demons, etc.
Mark 16:15-18 -- “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe
will be condemned. 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…they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Then He sayeth, “Do all of this only until the canon of Scripture is completed.”

Later, the Lord GAVE power and authority to many obedient apostles
Acts 5:12-16 -- “And through the hands of the apostles many signs and
wonders were done among the people … And believers were increasingly
added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women … sick people and
those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.”
1 Cor 2:4 -- “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive
words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
Rom 15:19 -- “… in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit
of God, so that from Jerusalem … I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”
When people’s faith is in the power of God, the gospel is much more powerful.

Disciples have been commanded to carry on the Lord’s work
Jesus is with the Father. The original disciples and apostles are dead.
Jesus has commanded us to take their places.
If we are His disciples (Matt 28:18), we are to be His obedient apostles.
The Holy Spirit is with those who believe and are obedient.
So, Go Forth!
“No weapon formed against you shall prosper” – Isa 54:17
“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts” – Zech 4:6
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” – Rom 8:31
“We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” – Rom 8:37
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” – James 4:7

Past problems with God’s original plan to evangelize the world
After the original apostles died off, many powerful church leaders wanted to be in
control instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to have His rightful place in the church.
All of this was done with the gleeful support of Satan … actually it was his idea!
These men did not have God’s anointing, but desired to hold on to their power.

Would anyone here like to sign up to be a disciple of Jesus ... and Go Forth?
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