Who gets the power to heal the sick and cast out demons?

I hadn't noticed this before.

Mark 3:13-19(NKJV)

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. 

Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, 

and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: 

Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; 

James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”; 

Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite; 

and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.

I believe that once we accept Jesus and we receive the Holy Spirit we all get some of this power in proportion to our faith.  I hadn't noticed that at first Jesus only gave this power to His twelve disciples. 

Why do so many people get this wrong. Have they not read the Scriptures?

There are many Christians who seem to think that all human beings should be one big happy family.  Jesus said differently. 

Mark 9:39-41(NKJV)

But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 

For he who is not against us is on our side. 

For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.

Jesus understood that there are two sides.  Those who are on the side of Jesus and God….. And those who are enemies of Jesus and God. 

Once again I marvel at this change that arrived with Jesus

One of the coolest things about the changes that Jesus brought about is that we are now totally in control of whether we receive the power of the Holy Spirit or not.  In the OT it wasn't like that.

Luke 1:15(NKJV)

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 

In the OT, from what I've read, you were handpicked to receive the Holy Spirit.  God decided who did and who didn't get the Holy Spirit and there were way more people who didn't get it than who did.

All of that changed with the arrival of Jesus.  Now all who accept Jesus get the Holy Spirit as a bonus.  And the best part is that each and every one of us can have the Holy Spirit if we choose to.  We are in total control. 

So do you have the power of the Holy Spirit in your life yet?  If not, let me help you.  All you have to do is invite Jesus to guide your life.  Just have a conversation with Jesus.  "Dear Jesus…." 

I wonder if the dead people thought it was gracious and merciful? :)

This just struck me as a bit funny.  There have been times where the people have pissed God off enough that He killed a bunch of them off.  I have no problem with that.  They had fair warning and went ahead a pissed off God anyway.

What made me chuckle though was this verse from Nehemiah. 

Nehemiah 9:31(NKJV)

    Nevertheless in Your great mercy     You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them;     For You are God, gracious and merciful.

Nehemiah is praising God for not killing them all.  For leaving some of them alive to start over.    Nehemiah says God was "gracious and merciful" for not killing all of them.  I wonder if all of those who did get killed would agree with that assessment?  :)

God's conditional promises

It n ever ceases to amaze me all of the people who think that all of God's promises are automatic and you don't have to do anything for them.  All of the people who think they can reject Jesus and still receive God's favor.

It's like they have never read Scripture.  If they had they would realize that it doesn't work that way.  Almost all of God's promises are conditional.  Take a look at this one as an example.

2 Chronicles 30:9(NKJV)

For if you return to the Lord, your brethren and your children will be treated with compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.”

IF you return to the Lord He will do such and such.  If you don't return to Him, He won't do such and such.  Notice it doesn't say, whether you return to Him or not He will do such and such. 

God is…power

I've got to admit I didn't get much out of this.  It basically said the same things as God is strength.  I've offered a couple of examples below.  I then looked up the definition of power and strength and found out why they seemed to say the same thing. 

The two words are used to define each other!  :)

Deuteronomy 8:17-20(NKJV)

then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’  

“And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 

Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 

As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.

Daniel 2:36-38(NKJV)

“This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. 

You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; 

and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. 

power

1.

ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing something.

2.

political or national strength:

the balance of power in Europe.

3.

great or marked ability to do or act; strength; might; force.

4.

the possession of control or command over others; authority; ascendancy:

power over men's minds.

5.

political ascendancy or control in the government of a country, state, etc.:

They attained power by overthrowing the legal government.

6.

legal ability, capacity, or authority:

the power of attorney.

7.

delegated authority; authority granted to a person or persons in a particular office or capacity:

the powers of the president.

From <http://www.dictionary.com/browse/power>

strength

1.

the quality or state of being strong; bodily or muscular power; vigor.

2.

mental power, force, or vigor.

3.

moral power, firmness, or courage.

4.

power by reason of influence, authority, resources, numbers, etc.

5.

number, as of personnel or ships in a force or body:

a regiment with a strength of 3000.

6.

effective force, potency, or cogency, as of inducements or arguments:

the strength of his plea.

7.

power of resisting force, strain, wear, etc.

From <http://www.dictionary.com/browse/strength>

Keeping the end times simple.

Jesus says Watch!  Be Ready.  OK.  What specifically are we to watch for? 

There are many things I suppose but here are the two main things I am watching for. 

Mark 13:14-15(NKJV)

“So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’  spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 

Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. 

When I see the antichrist or beast in Jerusalem that is the first big can't miss sign.

As far as being deceived by those claiming to be Jesus there is an easy test.  

Mark 13:21-26(NKJV)

“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it. 

For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 

But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.

“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 

the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 

Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 

Unless I see Him descending from Heaven I know it isn't the real Jesus.

I may get some of the other stuff wrong but these two things seem like they would be hard to miss.