The Apostles Heal Many - Acts 5:12-16 - Comments by Mike Kines

In Acts 5:12-16, the apostles performed signs and wonders, gathering believers in Solomon's colonnade. People brought the sick to be healed by Peter's shadow, and all were healed. This shows the authority of God's kingdom in the church. Some may be skeptical of supernatural occurrences due to false teachers, but signs and wonders are still for today. The church should not neglect the gift of the Spirit. Signs and wonders were happening in the early church, both genuine and counterfeit. People were being saved and healed daily. A true revival is needed, where people fear the Lord and experience His presence. May the Lord bless and keep you. Today we are taking a look at Acts chapter 5 verses 12-16, and this section of scripture is subtitled, The Apostles Healed Many. The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people, and with one accord the believers gathered together in Solomon's colonnade. Although the people regarded them highly, no one else dared to join them. Yet more and more believers were brought to the Lord, large numbers of both men and women. And as a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on them. Some of them, as he passed by, crowds also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits. And all of them were healed. The thing here is we see that the church was walking in the authority of God's kingdom. They were walking in the power of God's kingdom. There was a time where Jesus was casting out devils, and he said he received some opposition from religious leaders because he was casting out devils. And he said, if I cast out devils by the favor of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. You see here the apostles and the early Christians were walking in the power of God's kingdom. People were being healed. There were signs. There were wonders. There were people being healed, and there were devils being cast out. And you see Peter is mentioned here quite a bit, but I think that Peter symbolizes here the work of the Holy Spirit to all of the apostles and the prophets because it wasn't just Peter. Even later on, we see there was a lowly deacon by the name of Stephen whom God was using with these signs and wonders. Now I know that for a lot of people today, because we have been in the modern age, have been exposed to so many charlatans performing signs and wonders on Christian television or just on television or radio, we've been exposed to so much, so many charlatans, so many false teachers and preachers that we have become cynical and jaded against anything that's supernatural. But I got to remind us once again here that this is in the Bible, that the scriptures talk about signs and wonders. I know that there are entire groups of people today that deny. There are people who love the Lord who are Christians, but they deny the supernatural things are for today. Even back in the Lord's day, religious groups were divided up into different sects, and there were some who didn't even believe in the resurrection or in angels or in anything supernatural. I believe if it's in the Bible, then it's still for us today, that if there is a counterfeit signs and wonders movement happening in the world today, it's because there is a genuine article out there somewhere. God is still healing people. God's still driving devils out. God's still doing miracles in people's lives. And I can tell you one reason why I know that is because it happened to me. When I was a young man, I was so, I was lost and undone. I was, if it wasn't for the Lord, let me put it this way, if it wasn't for the Lord intervening in my life when I was a young man, I don't think I would still be here to this day. I was into some really, really evil and wicked stuff and the Lord Jesus saved me out of it and he set me free. He pulled me like a burning stick out of the fire and he saved me. So I know that God does miracles. I know that God can cast devils out of people and I know the Lord Jesus is still here today just as he was back in them days healing people. So what we see happening in the church, signs and wonders were taking place. Even though there are false preachers who do signs and wonders by the power of the enemy, however, this does not discount the true God sent men of God who walk in God's authority. What better way to get God's people to neglect the gift of the spirit, but by scaring them away from experiencing the living God in their midst. I am afraid of false preachers, but I'm also afraid of sincere Christian preachers who cut people off from experiencing the supernatural power of God in church today. Both are extremes and both deprive the church of God's active presence in our midst. One is just as bad as the other. So it says here that many signs and wonders were happening among the people that were all in agreement and they met at a place called Solomon's Porch. So these people were making use of the areas which belonged to the temple, taking advantage of the structures that were already in place to meet together. And so you see here, just like the devil enjoys sending people into the church that are full of the devil, like Ananias and Sapphira, the Lord enjoys sending spirit-filled people into dead institutions in order to bring revival. So the Lord's work will be carried out for it is not the Lord's will for men to perish in their sin, but for all to come to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus. So we see here that people were being saved on a daily basis in those days, both men and women. There was no distinction made between the rich and the poor, male and female, or even between Jew and Gentile. People were getting saved all over the place and would continue to go forward despite persecution or opposition. So another thing you see happening is people getting healed. People were bringing the sick into the streets so even the shadow of one of the apostles might pass over them. People had faith in the Lord Jesus and knew that he could heal them. They heard the news, they saw what was happening, and people believed. People were healed and evil spirits were cast out. The works of the devil were being destroyed by the church. My prayer is that God will send a revival like this again today. Not a fake revival, not a fake signs and wonders carnival, but a true God-sent revival where people can truly be blessed by the Lord. And one of the ways I think that you can really know that God's in the house is when people have a fear of the Lord. Just like the scripture says that when Ananias and Sapphira were taken out, struck by the Lord, there was a fear of the Lord. People were walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. So I think that's one of the ways you can know that people are truly in the presence of the Lord when there is a reverence and a fear of God in the place. Amen. May the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and the Lord give you peace.