Signs & Wonders, Healing & Demon Ousting in 2024 and Beyond - Q&A with Marnie Swedberg
My goal here is not to be the expert on this topic, but to honor God by sharing what I understand about the role of every Christian in signs and wonders for 2024 and beyond.
Read on or jump to the Q&As below.
I believe, love, study and teach the entire Bible. If the Bible says it, I believe it. (If a person says it, I check it against the Bible.)
When it comes to how God flows signs and wonders through me, in the simplest way possible, let's narrow it down to these three facts:
- Jesus came to show us the Father and teach us how to live. God loves like Jesus loved, and Jesus' life is our role model for living. Any other standards are sub-standards. John 14:9+12
- Jesus paid the ultimate price to purchase specific gifts that are offered to all:
- salvation from our sins, healing from our sicknesses and a peace that passes understanding. Psalm 103, Isaiah 53:5, John 14:27 and I Peter 2:24
Jesus commissioned first the 12, then the 72 and then all believers to continue the work He did, and to do even greater works. The 12 - Matthew 10 & Luke 9:12. The 72 - Luke 10. All believers - Mark 16:17-18.
Isaiah 53:5 says that Jesus was:
- pierced for our transgressions (to slay the penalty for all the sins we commit)
- crushed for our iniquities (to crush the ramifications of our sins)
- the punishment that brought us peace was on Him (to reward us with supernatural peace)
- and by his wounds we are healed (to free us of physical sickness and disease)
Other passages confirm this. Psalm 103:3 says, “He forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases.” I Peter 2:24 says, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His stripes you are healed.”
Having said that, I have come to understand that much of what I believed about God and His desire to heal us were based on misunderstandings, brokenhearted justifications, or blatant lies. I'm going to address some of these misrepresentations of Truth below, because you may be trapped in a mindset that's holding you back like mine did me.
I’m here as a role model with a testimony and invitation for you to be free in Christ! I challenge you to believe the Bible, and that God is as good as He says He is. Trust Jesus fully. Let the Holy Spirit flow signs and wonders to and through you, too. Yeah!
Q&A – Signs, Wonders, Healing & Ousting Demons
A. I can't unsee Mark 16:17-18 where Jesus says, "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
A. It was Mark 2:3-11 that convicted me. In the story where the paralyzed man was let down into the house by his friends so Jesus could heal him. In that story, the Pharisees could see/believe that Jesus could heal, but they refused to believe that He could forgive sins. One day, as I read that story, I became aware that I was a reverse Pharisee. I believed that God saves those who believe and receive, but I refused to believe that He heals everyone who believes and receives. That was the turning point for me.
A. If all we believe is what we see, that is unbelief. Faith is believing before we receive. In our culture, the definition of belief is a watered-down version of mental ascent. But God’s definition is “all.” It’s believing before and until we see (like we do with eternal salvation). As an analogy, faith is not watching Charles Blondin walk on a tightrope across Niagara Falls pushing a wheelbarrow. It’s volunteering to get into the barrel and trust His skill alone to get you across the chasm. Faith like that is required for salvation and for signs and wonders.
A. I believe the Bible, it says so, so yes, I do believe that Jesus has already provided healing for all who believe and receive. Same exact as salvation: the reality is that all don’t believe, and some who believe, don’t receive. God has done His part, it’s our responsibility to share these gifts.
A. Let’s look at Jesus’ ministry. Most accounts show Him healing the mentioned/obvious malady instantly and completely. Sometimes, no. There was the blind man that had a multistep healing, the man who had to go dunk in a pond, and Lazarus, who was in the tomb four days before Jesus raised Him from the dead. So, in some cases, there may be a delay, but mostly, it was instant and complete.
A. These bothered me, too. I now understand that the word thorn is only used two other times in the Bible and both refer to people thorns, not sickness. When Paul said he came in illness to the Galatians, the word is not illness. It’s that something was wrong with his body. Historically, his visit came on the heels of being stoned and left for dead. He was recovering. Re: Trophimus and Epaphroditus, they were both healed – the definition of being healed is having been sick, then well. It’s not the sickness doesn’t attack believers, it’s that Jesus already paid for our healing. Re: Timothy’s stomach. I don’t know. I just know that when I’ve traveled internationally, if you aren’t super careful, water can cause stomach issues and drinking something safe makes sense.
A. We follow Jesus’ pattern to walk in total dependence on the Spirit of God. We listen and obey. The two things a lot of people get confused about is who to have faith in vs. who or what to address. There is no record of Jesus “praying to God” for a single sick person. He either spoke to the person, their sickness, or the demon(s) who were perpetuating it. Healing and demon ousting go hand-in-hand throughout His ministry. He spoke to the person, illness or demon, but His faith was in God.
A. It doesn’t. It shouldn’t. There are only two examples in Jesus’ ministry where miracles weren’t performed peacefully: the little boy and the man of the Gadarenes. Even in these two instances, order was maintained. I have come to believe that people get what they expect. Curry Blake tells of a church where everyone made the same barking noise when being healed. After several people responded this way, he asked what the noise was. They said a pastor had taught them to expect to make that sound when they felt the power of God. I think most of what we experience is because that’s what we expect to experience. As we Line up our expectations with Scripture, we enjoy the most peaceful life God has to give us.
A. Family, friends and famous heroes of the faith who have died, are trapped in chronic pain, or somehow still not healed. The last thing I want to do is hurt the feelings of a beloved brother or sister in Christ! But what I want more, is to say YES to God every single time, no matter what. So, I move forward by faith with grace and love. God’s got us all.
