© 2010 Awake Nations with Glenn Bleakney www.awakenations.org

RESTORING THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

LESSON 7

MIRACLES, SIGNS AND WONDERS

KEY VERSE:

“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers,

raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:7-8).

INTRODUCTION

The Gospel of the Kingdom is not just a message to be shared by proclamation, but a Kingdom to be

extended in the demonstration of the Spirit and power. “Now it came to pass, afterward, that He

went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God”

(Luke 8:1 Emphasis Added). Paul declared: “And my speech and my preaching were not with

persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith

should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).

The true Gospel is not _____________ ______________________ unless it is accompanied by the

tangible, accompanying power of signs, wonders and miracles. “I will not venture to speak of

anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by

what I have said and done— 19 by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit.

So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ”

(Romans 15:18-19, Emphasis Added).

There are at least three reasons revealed in the Bible as to why we can expect to see the Kingdom

come with today not just in word, but in power.

1. THE ___________________ OF CHRIST

Every miracle and healing Jesus performed was motivated by his great mercy. Throughout the Gospels

there are at least fourteen referenced to Jesus being or having compassion on people. In each incident,

there was a subsequent supernatural miracle wrought by Christ.

Consider the following references in the Gospels:

© 2010 Awake Nations with Glenn Bleakney www.awakenations.org

Matt 14:14, "And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with

compassion toward them, and he healed their sick."

Mark 1:41, Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am

willing," he said. "Be clean!"

Luke 7:12-15, “As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out-- the

only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.

When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." Then he went up

and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get

up!" The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

THE HEART OF THE KING

As you learned in session four, the benevolent character of King Jesus is displayed in His commitment

to establish His righteous Kingdom rule among His people and eradicate injustice and eliminate

oppression: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the

poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind to

release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:18-19).

Healing and miracles are actually the means by which God demonstrates His profound love and

personal concern for His people. In Mark 3: 1 – 5, we read of an event that makes this amply clear:

“And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 So they

watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3

And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.” 4 Then He said to them, “Is it

lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5 And

when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He

said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as

whole as the other.”

Do you see the significance of verse 4? Jesus is implying that if He refused to heal this man it would be

an evil act tantamount to murder!

2. THE ___________________ OF THE GOSPEL

One of the most common misconceptions relating to Gospel is that it is really only concerned about

© 2010 Awake Nations with Glenn Bleakney www.awakenations.org

spiritual needs. The fact is the very nature of salvation has been greatly misinterpreted! The word

salvation in the New Testament Greek is soteria. The noun, “save” is sozo and is used most commonly

of spiritual salvation. E.g.: Romans 10:9, 13.

However, in James 1:21 the word is used in a different way. James exhorts his hearers who are

Christians to receive the “implanted word which is able to save their souls.” The word ‘soul’ is psuche

which speaks of the "_________ ________" or emotion, mind and will. He is saying allow the word to

renew your thinking, guard your emotions and shape your will.

In the New Testament there is a third application of salvation: the physical. In Acts 4:9, the word sozo

is translated “made whole” of the crippled beggar that was healed through Peter and John. The term

is employed in Matthew 9:21 in reference to the woman with the issue of blood being healed.

ISAIAH'S PROPHECY OF THE MESSIAH

Matthew 8:16-17 declares, "When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought

to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was

spoken through the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.’"

Jesus was fulfilling what was previously written by the prophet Isaiah in chapter 53 verse 4, "Surely he

took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by

him, and afflicted.” You will notice that there seems to be a discrepancy between Matthew's wording

and that of Isaiah. Matthew says that Jesus carried our ‘diseases’; Isaiah says ‘sorrows.’ There is no

contradiction here. The Hebrew word in Isaiah's text means "to feel pain." It can be translated literally

or figuratively.

The Holy Spirit is saying that Christ went to the Cross to redeem us from all pain: spiritual,

psychological and physiological. Bill Johnson reinforces this position on page 32 of When Heaven

Invades Earth:

“The gospel of salvation is to touch the whole man: spirit, soul, and body. John G. Lake called

this a Triune Salvation. A study on the word evil confirms the intended reach of His redemption.

That word is found in Matthew 6:13 (KJV), "Deliver us from evil." The word evil represents the

entire curse of sin upon man. Poneros, the Greek word for evil, came from the word ponos,

meaning pain. And that word came from the root word penes, meaning poor. Look at it: evil-

sin, pain-sickness, and poor-poverty. Jesus destroyed the power of sin, sickness, and poverty

© 2010 Awake Nations with Glenn Bleakney www.awakenations.org

through His redemptive work on the cross. In Adam and Eve's commission to subdue the earth,

they were without sickness, poverty, and sin. Now that we are restored to His original purpose,

should we expect anything less? After all, this is called the better covenant!"

3. THE CALLOUSNESS OF MEN’S ___________________

The third reason why the Lord desires to manifest His supernatural power in contemporary society is

because there are many today that need powerful proof of the truth of the Gospel. Satan, the god of

this world has blinded them so that they cannot believe. “The god of this age has blinded the minds

of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the

image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4, New International Version).

New Testament signs and wonders is the added component needed to break through the darkness of

men’s hearts. It is the means by which God Himself bears witness to the message. "…God also

testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed

according to his will” (Hebrews 2:4). Again, we read, "And the disciples went everywhere and

preached, and the Lord worked with them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs"

(Mark 16:20, New Living Translation, Emphasis Added).

OPEN HEARTS

Phillip was led by the Holy Spirit to go to Samaria and preach Christ to the multitudes. In the natural,

it was probably the last place on earth he would want to go to! Phillip was from Jerusalem. Samari-

tans and Jews had no dealings with each other. There was deep-seated racial prejudice as well as

sharp theological disagreement between the two groups. Yet, against all odds, Phillip was able to

break through and see revival. “And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by

Philip” (Acts 8:6).

Why was it that a people who were typically averse toward Jews would give Phillip their undivided

attention? The narrative is clear, “…hearing and seeing the miracles which he did…” (Acts 8:6-7).

Group Discussion:

1. How has experiencing the power of God opened up the heart of someone you

know to hear the Gospel?