The gifts of the Spirit have been given to us for soul winning. Acts 1:8 says, “Ye shall receive power.” The Greek word for power is the word dunamis, meaning healing power, supernatural power, miracle power, and it is the same word found in Acts 10:38 — “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power.” It is also the same word used when Jesus said, “…virtue is gone out of me.” (Luke 8:46)
The purpose of the gifts of the Spirit, the power of God, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit is not just so we can speak with tongues or enhance our prayer language. Although that is wonderful, the main purpose is to empower us to win souls, for this is why God has left us in this earth.
Mark 16:15:
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
This means we are to preach to all of creation, whether they are in Africa, in Asia, or in America. We are not to be prejudice by color, by nationality, or by income.
Mark 16:16-20:
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
And these signs shall follow them that believe [those who become born again]; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
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.
So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.
The Lord was working with them and confirming the Word with signs following. As they went forth and preached the Word, God sent signs and wonders along so they could win souls.
Romans 15:19:
Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
Notice the first part of this verse says, “Through mighty signs and wonders.” Without signs and wonders, you are not fully preaching the gospel of Jesus. God has designed that we share Jesus and His power with all of creation. This is why miracles were given to us.
In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we often read, “Jesus preached to the multitudes, and many believed on Him.” We also find that after He healed the masses and performed miracles, many believed on Him. By the preaching and by the miracles, signs, and wonders, many believed on Him. The purpose of the preaching and of the signs and wonders is so many will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Perhaps you were saved because someone shared Jesus with you or you heard a sermon. Or, perhaps you received Jesus because of a sign, a wonder, a healing, or a miracle. The majority of people will accept Jesus because you shared Jesus with them.
Isaiah 52:7: (NAS)
How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces to salvation, and says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Our feet are to be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, which means we are to preach the gospel. (Ephesians 6:15) But God has also called us to demonstrate the gospel of Jesus Christ.
While Jesus was on this earth, he began to do and teach. We are to take it from there. We are to perform the Word of God as well as preach the Word of God, and we have been equipped through the awesome power of the Holy Spirit. It is not an option to be filled with the Holy Spirit; Jesus commanded us to be filled with the Holy Spirit so we can go forth in His power. (Acts 1)
Do you realize there is a supernatural devil out there with supernatural demons? Then why should Christians be out there with only a few words in our mouths. We need to be armed with God’s supernatural power. Our power is greater than the devil’s power so we need to operate in that power. So many people have been duped by the devil’s power because they have never seen any power from a Christian. People are tired of just hearing words; they want to see a demonstration. If we say we have more power, we should show that we have more power.
You ask, “But what if I lay hands on the sick and they don’t recover?” That is not up to you! It is your responsibility to lay hands on the sick; it is God’s responsibility to see that they recover. You are to lay hands on them and cast out devils. It is God’s power to see to it that devils are cast out. God simply works through our obedient hands to minister.
In Acts 1, Jesus commanded them to go to the Upper Room. In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit descended and Peter preached a sermon and thousands came to the Lord because of that sermon. In Acts 3, we have the first operation of the gifts of the Spirit through the disciples for the purpose of winning souls.
Acts 3:1-9:
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. [This is 3:00 p.m. They went to prayer four times a day: 6:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., noon, and 3:00 p.m.]
And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
And all the people saw him walking and praising God.
The people who saw this lame man walking and praising God are the same people who heard Peter’s sermon the day before. Later, many of this group received Jesus as Lord and Savior, which means they heard the gospel but didn’t believe until they saw the miracle.
Some people receive through the preaching of the Word. Others need a supernatural shaking in their life. That is what the Holy Spirit does. He will come into their everyday life and shake them and show them the power of God.
This lame man had been laid at the gate Beautiful every day. Jesus probably passed this man, but it wasn’t the time for this man to be healed. When Peter and John walked by, faith rose up in this man’s heart and he received a miracle that day. Acts 1:8 was demonstrated for the first time in this passage to be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.
At this point, we also find the making of a team in Peter and John. They had been together under Jesus’ ministry, but now that Jesus is gone, they have a great need for each other.
There couldn’t have been two people who were more opposite of each other than Peter and John, and now they were forming a team together. Luke 22:8 and John 13:23-24 tell us they had already been ministering together, even before Jesus left. One was probably strong in the gifts — Peter, and the other was strong in the Word — John. Together, they made an awesome team.
Notice that Peter did the speaking. He commanded the man to look at them, because God uses people. When I preach, it is important for people to look at me, not because I am important, but because what I am saying is important. I have the sermon God has prepared.
Peter would not have the man look at him at any other time than this, but Peter knew the power of God was present to heal the man at that very moment. There were probably a multitude of people pouring through that gate and the man was used to crying out, “Can I? May I?” and looking at someone just long enough to let them know he had a need before he looked to someone else to receive finances. When Peter and John said, “Fasten your eyes on us,” the man probably thought he was going to get something of great significance from these two. He was probably very disillusioned to hear, “Silver and gold have I none.” But silver and gold wasn’t what he needed. Peter ministered something that would heal him for life so he would no longer need to beg. He could go out and be a part of a productive society. That is what the healing and anointing power of God does.
Our authority to witness, lay hands on the sick, and cast out devils comes from the Holy Spirit and the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter told the beggar, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.” On this earth, our power of authority, our power of attorney, rests in that name and when we invoke it, heaven backs it.
It is much like when a person sells you insurance. You sign your name on the document, they sign their name, and the policy goes into effect. The insurance company has designated this person to carry the power of attorney for the company.
The disciples took the man by the hand and lifted him up. This is exactly how Jesus performed miracles. In the case of Peter’s mother-in-law, who had the fever, Jesus reached down and picked her up by the hand.
I believe that when Peter said, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk,” he and John pulled on him, showing him he was not to wait for a manifestation. He was to get up, use every bit of strength he had, and then the manifestation of healing would occur.
No scripture says, “God helps those who help themselves.” However, when you are acting on your faith, do something you could not do and expect the power of God to come and move upon you. It is not that we wait for God’s power to move and then we move. We move first and then God’s power moves through us. We don’t get saved and then believe it. We believe it and then we are saved. The moment you believed in Jesus, you were still a sinner, but the moment after you believed, you were born again.
This beggar was lifted up by the hand. He tried to stand on feet that had not operated since birth and the moment he did, strength came into his ankle bones. He began to dance, to rejoice, to leap, and to praise God. (Acts 3:8)
By the time this man heard the name of Jesus and stood up, he was probably born again. I imagine at some point from the time he was on the ground until the time he was dancing, rejoicing, leaping, and praising God, he began trusting in Jesus.
Signs and wonders are to draw attention to Jesus so a person can put their faith in Him. Notice, after this man was healed he followed them into the temple. We should not win people for the kingdom of God and then leave them to fend for themselves. We should win them to the Lord and then and bring them to church. Discipleship is part of evangelism. He sent us into all the world to make disciples of all nations. It grieves me when I hear about people going into nations and winning hundreds of thousands of souls for the Lord, coming back to America, and giving testimonies, but not directing the people to a local body of believers so they can grow in the things of God. What is going to happen to those people who got saved? Who is going to disciple them?
Verse eight tells us this beggar man followed them into the temple. The good news is the multitude witnessing this miracle also followed them into the temple. The day before this 3000 people received Jesus as Lord and Savior. By the end of this particular day, 5,000 more people received Jesus as Lord and Savior. In a matter of a couple of days 8,000 people received Jesus as Lord and Savior through the preaching of the Word, but also through signs, wonders, and miracles.
Matthew 28:18-20:
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power [dunamis] is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
The Greek actually says, “Make disciples of all nations.” The Great Commission tells us to go into all the world, spread the Gospel, and teach. This includes getting people born again and bringing them to church. What kind of mother births her child and then walks off and leaves it? An abusive mother. Yet we do it all the time to brand-new converts. We are to bring new converts into the fold of the church so they can grow and become strong in the things of God.
1 Timothy 2:1-4:
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
We are to pray for all men to be saved and for them to come unto the knowledge of the truth. We are to evangelize the same way. God wants people to be born again, become part of a church where they can grow in the things of God, and ultimately go out and win souls for the Lord Jesus Christ. This is supernatural soul winning.
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Copyright 2009 by Bob Yandian Ministries.
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