Seeking a Sign from God

Signs help us know where to go and what to do. Stop, yield, left turn, right turn only, helpful things like that. Some signs warn us. Don't go there, danger, caution, wrong way. Sometimes they are ignored. People blow through stop signs or fail to yield or miss a turn. They put themselves and others in harm's way or in jeopardy of getting lost. Signs also identify and reveal. You are now here, you have reached your destination; or look! there is a restaurant or a gas station or a coffee shop. What a relief it is to see a familiar sign in an unfamiliar place. Then there are signs we seek where bigger things than a cup of coffee or a cheeseburger are at stake. Things that reveal or prove big truths from God so we would know and be assured of what He wants.

Matt. 12:38-42 gives us an example of evil-hearted people seeking signs from God for the wrong reasons. The context is the unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Spirit; full and final rejection of Christ. Jesus spoke of how our words reveal things about us spiritually. He rebuked the Pharisees' blasphemous words. They come back with a zinger of their own. They ask Him for a sign. This time they call Him Teacher rather than Satan, but their words were sarcastic not sincere. They demanded an on-the-spot miraculous sign from Jesus to prove that He was truly the Messiah. They were saying they would not believe unless He did so. Weren't the signsword had already shown them enough? Healing a demon-possessed blind mute man? The man with a withered hand? The paralytic? The two-demon-possessed men? The leper? The many who were healed and freed from Satan's hold on them? It betrayed their desire to control God. They were looking for more ammo to say bad things about Him.

Jesus said in response "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign." He refused to play their game. He will not work wonders on demand, especially not for unbelieving skeptics. Jesus said no sign would be given them but Jonah the prophet. Jonah being in the big fish for three days Jonah 2:1 parallels the period of Jesus’ death and resurrection. This is Jesus’ first clear prediction of his death in Matthew. Jonah was as good as dead and was made alive. Jesus would go to the cross, be killed, buried and rise again. Luke 16:31 makes it clear even the resurrection will not turn the hearts of some. So Jesus says the men of Nineveh would come forward as witnesses against them at the judgment. Jesus says the Queen of the South will too. She went to the nth degree to seek out wisdom. The Pharisees weren't willing to do anything but accuse and attack. She travelled far to hear Solomon’s wisdom, but the people of Jesus' time on earth had Jesus, David’s greater Son, with them preaching the gospel, but they showed little interest. Gentiles in Jonah’s and Solomon’s time believed after hearing God’s “lesser” spokesmen, while “this generation” refused to believe even after hearing “one greater”. The Greatest One of all was present with them and they would not believe. It's like Jesus is saying, You will continue to disbelieve in spite of all I can say or do, and ultimately you will put me to death. But I will rise again. "A sign", as F.F. Bruce put it, "for your confusion, if not for your conversion."

Jesus was dealing with worldviews in conflict on the outside, and a spiritual battle on the inside. Internal issues covered outwardly by words and deeds against Jesus, countered by the truth that Jesus is greater than all and God's Word alone is reason to believe. To counteract the self-focused subjectivity of the Phaisees and those like them, God gave them objective truth that was focused on Him, not them, that was absolutely trustworthy rather than deceptive. A stern warning to anyone who would dare do what they did. How about us? What does this have to say to those of us who are just trying to mind our own business, trying to live a quiet and humble life before God, wanting to please Him and make a difference in the world? We encounter internal and external obstacles as well, we deal with things that anger us, frustrating things that test our faith. We need discernment. People are either suspicious, gullible or discerning. The suspicious question everything and can be malicious; the gullible accept everything and are deceived; the discerning reject everything but the truth. You want to be discerning, which is harder than being suspicious or gullible. The gullible are easily deceived and believe lies. The suspicious tend to be blind to their own faults. Both tend to be superstitious and have to have everything confirmed by some sign. The discerning weigh things carefully by the Word of God. So...What should we do as we interact with people who maliciously look for reasons to reject God; or superstitiously seek signs; or are gullible and fall for anything because they stand for nothing? How do we deal with our tendencies to do the same? And how do we know God wants us to do something? What should we do?

1. Check your Motives. Why are you seeking some sort of sign? Why do you say "Lord, if you want me to do x, please let y happen so I'll know for sure"? Pray for God to reveal the hidden motives of those who are evil and want to deceive and pray for self-awareness when your motives are wrong. Are you trying to discern the will of God or discredit the cause of Christ? Are you waning what God wants or what you want?

2. Rely on God's Power. God's power for creating power, it is resurrection power...power that goes beyond the humanly imaginable. Jesus here highlights the fact that the Book of Jonah is not a legend or fable but historical fact; and it foretells his death on the cross. Evil and adulterous generations demand signs and they will get nothing but Christ and Him crucified. They can make no progress unless they stop stumbling over the rock of stumbling and stone of offense and believe the gospel which is the "power of God for salvation." Turn to Him and be saved.

3. Seek God's Wisdom. God's wisdom in Christ revealed in God's Word confounds those who think they are wise. Trust God's Word more than your feelings. Sometimes people are like Pharisees, they demand for God to show the proof that He exists and that He is really who He says He is. Often they are, or want to be seen as, angry at God and fighting to be disengaged. People make outlandish claims against God. They will take some with them to hell, but none that belong to Jesus, who are safe and secure in the strong loving hands of Jesus, who is all-powerful. If you are a Chrstoan your name was written in the Book of Life before the world began. It is good to seek God but not to seek to control Him. Simply take Him at His Word.

Bottom line, do you believe God's Word? The Pharisees didn't. God has already revealed His will to us through His Word, but sometimes we are ignorant of it, or we want our own will more. We are called to walk by faith not sight. Above all, God has given us the sign of the cross displaying the matchless wisdom and resurrection power of God. Jesus Christ is greater than all and God's Word alone is reason to believe.. Why is this so important? Because days are coming, and are now here, when Christians will need substance to withstand the onslaught of evil, when they will actively need to overcome evil with good. We must also deal with life with all its joys and pains, staying true to what we know is true. We must stand strong against the rising tide of subtle and outright opposition to God, His Word and His Spirit-in dwelt church. To do so we must have pure motives as we rely on God's power and seek His wisdom.