Working of Miracles pt. 2

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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

Acts 2 · chapter mention

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.

Acts 5:12

We see Acts 5 verse 12. He said, by the hands

Acts 5:12

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

Acts 19:11

11. Acts 19 verse 11. Start from verse 10. Right.

Acts 19:11

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

Acts 8:5–8

think we have. Acts chapter 8 verse 5 to 8. which

Acts 8:5–8

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

Acts 12:1–11 Acts 12:1–11

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

Acts 12:11

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

Luke 8 · chapter mention Luke 8 · chapter mention Luke 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8. Let's see. Why the miraculous? Luke

Luke 8 · chapter mention

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

Acts 16:19

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,

Luke 9:51 Luke 9:51

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

Luke 9 · chapter mention

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

Exodus 22:18 Exodus 22:18

22, verse 18. Exodus 22, verse 18. This is one

Exodus 22:18

other scripture in the Old Testament that actually

shows something about God. Now, Exodus 22, verse

Exodus 22:18

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.