Mar 16:17-18

“These signs will accompany those who have believed:
in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;

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.”

They will pick up serpents.

Oh yeah, this one (and the next) always cause disruption.

It is actually easy to understand.
The Word reveals the truth to us.

A couple of examples.

We are not to tempt the Lord…

The devil tempted Jesus.
Jesus responded…

Mat 4:7

Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

The devil was trying to get Jesus to “do things” to prove Who He was.

We are not to tempt the Lord…by picking up snakes to prove our faith, etc.

So, what does it mean?

The Word gives an example.

Act 28:1-6

When they had been brought safely through,
then we found out that the island was called Malta.

The natives showed us extraordinary kindness;
for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold,
they kindled a fire and received us all.

But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire,
a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.

When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea,
justice has not allowed him to live.”

However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.

But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead.
But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him,
they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.

I believe it is this kind of incident to which the Lord refers.

Paul should have been dead.
The natives judged him guilty due to the bite.
When he lived, they judged him a god.
Both were wrong.
It opened a door to the gospel.
They believed.
Many were healed of sickness and disease.

Believers will cast out demons in His name.
Believers will speak in new tongues.
Believers will “pick up serpents”.

Do you believe?

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