Acts 5:12-16 – Signs and Wonders
The Living Word With Chuck Davis
Acts 5:12-16 – Signs and Wonders
"Welcome to the Living Word with Chuck Davis" X-5, 12 to 16, signs and wonders. Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles, and they were all together in Solomon's Portugal. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever, believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. People also gathered from the chilons around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. Interesting passage after just having this failure within, God's not pulling back his manifest presence among the people. He's just making sure that it's used in the proper ways. We see that they're still meeting in Solomon's Portugal. There's a spirit filling that is happening here in these spaces. Remember, these are people who just handful of days before had great fear. What had changed their fear to boldness and even asking for more boldness? It was the experience of being with the resurrected Jesus. And I believe that Jesus is still doing that today. I met with a young man this past week who talked about his own conversion experience. He grew up nominal Christian, but there was a day when the Lord just kind of burst into his life. Can't explain it, but driving down the road, there was a joy and a reality that he knew he was God's. I love when God does that, but oftentimes he'll use us in our boldness to bring that out to the people. There's a release of incredible signs and wonders in this passage. If people brought the sick into the streets on cots and mats so that Peter's shadow might, I'm guessing that there must have been situations where he did walk by, and they were healed by the shadow, the present reality of the risen Christ in these believers was bringing radical transformation. Remember, Jesus said, those who believe in me will do what I do. He likes to pass his authority through his name and a power to see release out to his followers. We see that because of the testimony of what's happening that people are brought from surrounding villages with unclean spirits and with sickness, there's an interesting way this passage ends. They were all healed. Interesting in this movement of God, I've seen healing, I've seen deliverance. In fact, I've been a part of two deliverance in her healing sessions in the last two weeks, but I've never seen it where it's been just an overflow where everyone who's prayed for is raised up, even when I was miraculously healed with my leg injury where it was spoken out by a man who had healing ministry given to him, conferred upon him by the Lord Jesus Christ. There were other people with me who didn't experience it, but here Luke says they were all healed. There's a heightening. There are different moments when God's breaking in, and I mean it leads to that reminder that I'm just as surprised when God doesn't break in as when he does. There's an interesting dynamic that's happening in this space. The so what is the reminder that the name of Jesus plus faith, plus being people that are out there proactively on the streets creates opportunity for the kingdom of God to come bursting in. My now what is to call you and to call myself to a new expectancy, anticipating that God may want to release in our day a fresh pouring out of signs and wonders of demonstrations of his kingdom for the same reason that we should want those for the glorification of Jesus that he would be raised up as king in our day. He is the king upon the throne worthy is the lamb was slaughtered on our behalf, but that worth needs to be experienced with greater reality in the day in which we live. Let me pray this in Jesus' name, amen.