Those Who Have Believed | Elder Matt Swaggart

Mark 16:17
These signs will accompany those who have believed…

Mark 16:15-18
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who disbelieved shall be condemned. 17 “These signs will accompnay those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.””

• Not apostles. Not Pastors. Not spiritual elites. Not people with platforms.

• If you believed in Him, he placed His authority on you.

Mark 16:1
1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him.

Mark 8:31-38
31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Mark 16:3
3 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”

• That’s us sometimes. We love Jesus—but we will measure the size of the obstacle.

Mark 16:6
He is not here; He has risen.

Mark 16:7
But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’

• This is not a performance-driven life.

• Christianity begins and ends with grace.

• Grace produces obedience.

• Obedience clarifies calling.

• Calling strengthens faith.

• Faith releases power.

• And power brings healing through these hands.

Mark 16:9-11
9 Now after He had risen early on the first day of week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it.

Mark 8:31-38
31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and *said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s."

• If we can’t learn to believe what this book says when we read it, we won’t be able to use it when we need it.

Mark 16:12-14
12 After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. 13 They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either. 14 Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.

• It was given to men who finally believed. It was not earned by performance.

• You don’t preach opinion. You preach good news with resurrection power behind it.

• He gives all believers in this one scripture authority over any demon!

• The enemy is not on equal terms with you. He is a defeated foe. Jesus stripped him, shamed him, and crushed him at the cross (col. 2:15).

• God says, “Those hands carry my healing.”

Psalm 18:34 says:
“He trains my hands for battle.”

• You are one of “those who have believed”—and these signs will follow you.