Scripture Readings:  

Hebrews 2; 

Hebrews 3; 

Hebrews 4

Pray This Prayer:  

“Dear God, I come to You in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and I ask You to help me to get serious about “signs and wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit” operating more freely out of my life. Your Word tells me that I should be demonstrating the evidence of a Supernatural God in my life, and so I ask You to stir and liberate me to be able to be the man/woman of God you have called me to be. Help me to deal with all those negativities in my life which are not allowing me to function in Your divine will and purposes. I really do want to be an effective and fruitful minister of Your Supernatural Gospel in my day and generation. In Jesus' name, I pray these things. Amen."

GOD BEARS WITNESS TO HIS WORD

Over recent times we have been looking at the importance of Spiritual Gifts and especially The Gift of Prophecy (see back issues on our Web Page). Spiritual Gifts are very important, so much so that they are part of God confirming the truth of His Word when it is preached. In Hebrews 2:1-4 we read: “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?”

What a challenging portion of Scripture! It is warning us to give “earnest heed” to what we have heard of the truth of the Gospel. To be “earnest” means to be “1. serious in mind or intention 2. showing or characterized by sincerity of intention 3. demanding or receiving serious attention” (Collins Dictionary). To “heed” means to give “close and careful attention.” Putting those two words together is giving us the message that we need to pay close attention to what has been said ~ otherwise we will drift away into carelessness, forgetfulness and passivity. When that happens there is no longer any supernatural confirmation from God to the preaching of His word.

The Scriptures teach us that God does confirm His word with signs following (Mark 16:15-20). It happens when we, His people, demonstrate that we believe the importance of what He says to the point that we commit ourselves totally to it. What God says must be “Number One” in the life of a Christian! When we drift away from giving “earnest heed” to what we have heard (from God), then there is a process that sets in that robs us of the power and impact of the Gospel. When the word of the Lord is preached and heard, then we are told that God “bears witness” with “signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit.” This is supposed to be “the norm” for Biblical Christianity. Why is this so important? The reason is that Christianity is a supernatural Gospel, inspired by a Supernatural God, Who wants Christians and the world to know that He is alive today to back up what He says. Because He is a Supernatural God then it is obvious that He works in supernatural ways, leaving people in no doubt as to His presence being there to back up what is preached and spoken!

Did you notice that the “gifts of the Holy Spirit” functioning through Holy Spirit-filled people are one of God’s ways of confirming His word to those present? When we give “earnest heed” to the teachings of New Covenant Christianity, then we will come to realize that “signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit” should be a joyful part of our walk with Jesus. If there is no supernatural evidence of God in our preaching, then there will be no conviction of the necessity to treat such in the way the Bible exhorts us.

Today God is looking for people who will dare to believe what He says, and to so believe what He says that they are willing to put their faith into action and demonstrate that “God says what He means and means what He says.” We cannot be passive hearers of His word and then expect supernatural results! We have to stir those gifts that are within us and allow the Holy Spirit to speak and act through us to demonstrate to an unbelieving world that Jesus is alive today. We are His representatives (“ambassadors” – “people invested with power and authority to speak and act on behalf of the King of the Kingdom we represent” – 2 Corinthians 5:20) and that means there is to be some supernatural evidence of that privilege we carry. God wants to back up His word with “signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit” through His ambassadors. May we all be challenged afresh of our responsibility to “give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” ~ Rodney W. Francis.