Seeking A Sign

Matthew 12:39, 40 — “But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth’.”

As you may have surmised, this week’s teaching may be slightly hard to digest, but I have been pondering a thought or two concerning those who ever-so-gradually “veer off course” while pursuing other things. What are these “other things”? Well, they are, to name a few, the things we claim we “need to know”, “need to have”, or maybe it’s just something we just “need to see” or “need to hold in our own two hands”. It can be any number of things, desires or wants, but before we get into that, let’s look a little more closely at the Words Jesus spoke in Matthew 12. “But He answered them and said...”, and let’s stop here a moment. He answered “them”, but what was the question and who are “they”? What had just occurred, in verses 22-40, was this: Jesus had healed a man “possessed with a devil , who was blind, and dumb”, and...

“...all the people were amazed. But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ‘This fellow doesn’t cast out devils, except by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils’.”

Although there are many, many topics we could choose from in the preceding passages of Scripture, here is where I would like to focus...on these two words: evil and adulterous. What, exactly, do these two words mean, and how might they apply to us? I do not wish to dwell on these words in order to condemn us or confuse us, but rather to help us; to keep us focused on Him and His Words.

Here He was, trying to let them know that their unbelief and faithlessness was an issue which He was quite willing to address, and He did just that. Their unbelief in Him was one thing; their faithlessness with the things and miracles of God was a whole other matter. Many of us today have the same difficulty, in wholly and completely believing Him, and in wholly and completely placing our faith in Him and His Word. How can I say such a thing? Because I have seen it in my own life, in the lives of those I’ve been close to, as well as many Christians I have had the pleasure to have known over the years.

Before we go any further, let’s take a look at a portion of scripture that may not appear to have much in common with what we’re saying. Matthew 6:25-34 thru chapter 7:1 & 2; this is the latter part of the famed Sermon on the Mount.

(25) “Therefore I say to you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; neither be concerned for your body, as to what you shall put on. Isn’t the life more important than meat, and isn’t the body more important than clothing? (26) Behold the birds of the air -- for they do not plant, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns -- yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you much better than they? (27) Which of you -- by taking thought -- can add one cubit to his stature?

(28) And why are you concerned about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, but they do not toil, neither do they spin. (29) And yet I say to you that even Solomon in all of his glory was not clothed like any of these. (30) Wherefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field -- which to day is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven -- shall He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? (31) Therefore take no thought, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or, ‘What shall we drink?’ or, ‘With what shall we be clothed?’ (32) These are the things that the Gentiles seek (or pursue, or strive for); don’t you understand that your Heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things?

(33) But here, I will show you a Better Way: Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His Righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (34) Therefore, do not worry or fret about tomorrow, for tomorrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matt. 7:1) Judge not, so that you will not be judged, (2) for with what judgment you judge others, this is how you shall be judged; and with what measure you measure, that is how it shall be measured to you again.”

If, in our lives, we find that we must have something, or we get to the point where we strongly desire to “see more or know more”, we can be “straying off our course.” There is nothing wrong with desiring to know more about God or the things of God, but when we begin desiring to have visions or see angels or we want the latest revelation or we think we have to have anything beyond what is considered the “norm” -- or when we begin getting to the point where our hearts are craving something else, and we cry out “Give me a sign, or send me a word of prophecy...just give me something!!!”, then we have perhaps lost our way.

I say “perhaps”, because there will come times in our lives where we feel “uneasy”, “unsettled”, “unfulfilled”, or we just simply feel the need for “more” of Him. I have been there; I know we all grow and experience things differently, but when God is moving and doing things in our midst, and the Holy Spirit is accomplishing all that God has desired to be accomplished, and we still feel “unfulfilled”, then we need to take a long, hard look at ourselves. There are, as with any principle or understanding of spiritual truth, always going to be exceptions, but I have seen far too many Christians seeking (as did the Pharisees) to inquire of the Lord:

I do not want to fall into the trap of seeking after signs or visions or newer and better revelations...and we should all know this, beyond any shadow of any doubt: God has never failed His people; He has never left them lacking; there has always been a remnant, a faithful group who have followed Him and will always follow Him. Now, let me clearly say: I have never had a vision, but I have had many dreams; I have never had a “visitation” (either of the Lord or of angels), but I have heard Him speak many times clearly, distinctly and directly to my heart and spirit; I have never had some new and great revelation (that nobody else had), but He has been ever so Faithful in revealing Himself to me, and I praise Him and thank Him for all of His blessings and truths.

And as far as those who have had visions or visitations or great new revelations, I have this small piece of advice...walk softly and quietly before your God and His people, for I have witnessed far too many saints who just can’t wait to “share” their latest “gift” from God; they just can’t wait to “reveal” their latest “revelation” or their latest “visitation” --- but, sadly, most of these “sharings” very rarely are to His Glory; usually, it is all consumed up in the flesh. Let this not be so in this day and in this hour.

Now, let us get back to what we were saying about Matthew 6:25-34 and chapter 7:1 & 2; what does a sign have in common with these Words of Jesus? First, what is it that a normal, “everyday sign” does? Any sign anywhere, that does its job, will always first and foremost get our attention. Now, I’m speaking very plainly about common everyday signs we see all the time: Stop signs; yield signs; traffic signs; billboards; shop signs. I once had a friend who worked for a sign company, and I had many opportunites to not only go into his sign shop, to see how they made their signs, but to also accompany him as he made bids for different companies. What they did was go out to a place of business, determine what kind of advertisement was needed to most effectively explain and display that business, then they would go back to their shop and make the sign. Simple enough, right? But all throughout the process was this one important factor: Is this sign going to gain the most attention to say what the customer wants said? And that is how it is with signs in our lives. What gets our attention? What diverts our hearts and our spiritual eyes away from the Mark of the Prize of the High Calling? For even though the everyday signs we see have a purpose to advertise, the signs that Jesus spoke of are not for anything positive or helpful; instead they work to our harm and to our disadvantage.

That is what Jesus was saying in Matthew 6:25-34 & 7:1, 2: When we begin to worry and fret and become unsettled about our lives, about what we should eat, or drink; when we become so concerned for our bodies, as to what we should wear; when we begin to worry and fret about tomorrow, we have truly forgotten that Our Heavenly Father is always fully aware of each and every one of our needs. When we become so self-involved, self-centered and self-righteous, we then begin to look at others with a more critical and impatient eye. We all do it or have done it -- and then we fall into a further trap, judging and measuring everyone and everything with a faulty measuring stick -- our own measuring stick; and God help us when we get to that point, for we are now in danger of being judged ourselves. How do we get to this place? And, more importantly, how do we get out? First, how we got there...

The two Greek words, poneros and ponos, further suggest “calamitous; ill, i.e. diseased; but especially to be morally deserving of blame, even to be derelict, as if abandoned by the owner or guardian”. Other meanings are “vicious, facinorous; having mischief, malice, or guilt; the devil, or sinners -- bad, evil, grievous, harmful, lewd, malicious, wickedness”. That word “facinorous” (pronounced: fas’-in-or-us) is an interesting word; I had to look it up in my very old (43 years old, published in 1957) Little & Ives Webster Dictionary. Its definition is “a wicked deed or crime; a criminal; one who is atrocious (cruel, evil, black-hearted)”. One of the things the devil strives for in fighting against the Kingdom of God is the vicious thing of making us feel blamed, guilty and abandoned. While we may not ever even come close to becoming evil and malicious and “black-hearted”, the enemy takes great delight in making us feel as though we are. That is why there is such an area of guilt and condemnation so prevalent in the Kingdom of God today -- nearly “running rampant” in the Body of Jesus Christ. It is not an area talked about, preached about or even taught about very much, but it is an Area of Great Problem among many Christians of today. And, happily for us, it is one of those areas where the Lord Jesus is so avidly and lovingly working...to restore faith and beauty and peace to His children, to His Body.

Now, as we glance over all of these meanings of evil, we can get a very clear picture of what “evil” is, and how it can affect us or those around us -- for make no mistake...what affects us will affect those who are close to us and vice versa. Except, of course, where the Lord intervenes. But where does all of this evil originate, or who stirs it all up? We have always had evil in the world, but lately things have changed or worsened somewhat. There is a spirit of antichrist moving very forcefully in the world today, and each and every definition we have covered above fits this particular “spirit” to a “T”. Now I’m not talking about anything other than the “generic” meaning of the word antichrist.

I am not going to get into the specifics of the antichrist in the Book of Revelation, nor will I enter into conjecture as to who the antichrist is or any other end-time thoughts on that issue. I want to keep this thought, this teaching, simple in that regard. The word I’m referring to is the same word used by the Apostle John in 1st John chapters 2 and 4, and 2nd John, verse 7. Those usages there refer to the same spirit that troubles us today. It will not “die” or dissipate till Christ, the Anointed One, destroys it forever. The Name, Jesus Christ, is more than just a “first” and “last” name for our Lord. I’m sure we all know that, but just in case...Jesus, Yeshua or Jehoshua, means “Savior” or “One Who Saves or Delivers”; Christ, Christos, means the “Anointed” or “He Who is the Anointed One”. There are much deeper and more precious meanings to the Names of Our Lord, but these are the simplest of definitions, which still greatly serve our purpose here. Next, we will take a closer look at this antichrist spirit.

From all of the above, we can “plug in” these meanings and then say that the spirit of antichrist has these effects on Jesus Christ, the Anointed One...but also let us clearly state that the “anointing” can be included here, for the anointing and He Who is the Anointed One are the same; we cannot have the anointing, except the Giver of the anointing has given it. 2nd Corinthians 3:17 tells us: “Now the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” I have also heard the verse read this way, and it loses no power in Truth: “Now where the Spirit has liberty, He is Lord.” The few verses prior to this verse are discussing Moses and the children of Israel, and the fact that they could not stand to behold the glory that shone from the face of Moses after he descended Mount Sinai with the tables of the law. This “glory” was the anointing. The liberty spoken of here, in verse 17, is important; it means “unrestrained, as a citizen (not a slave), or exempt (from obligation or liability):--free (man, woman), at liberty.” This liberty is very, very important...

Colossians 2:13 “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has quickened together with Himself, having forgiven you all your trespasses. (14) He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His Cross. (15) Having spoiled principalities and powers, He made an open show of them, triumphing over them in it (His Cross). (16) Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, new moon, or of the sabbath days. (17) These are but a shadow of things to come; but the Body is of Christ.”

Isaiah 10:27 “And it shall come to pass in that day, that his (the enemy’s) burden shall be taken away from off your shoulder, and his yoke from off your neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.”

Let us be fair...the reason most of us “seek a sign” is because we are either weak, frightened, doubtful or even angry. In any case, we have a weak moment and need reassuring, strengthening or just some plain attention, even as a child. But we must grow and mature and not be children anymore; we must cease from our need for attention and special things and frequent signs from God. Even from the practice of “laying out a fleece”. There may have been a time when that was acceptable, but now as we are growing in Him, let us trust Him to “supply all our need according to His Riches in Glory.” If we feel weak, He is our Strength; if we are scared, He is our Mighty God; if we have doubts, He is our Confidence and our Reassurance; if we feel angry because we think He may have failed us or forsaken us or forgotten us, we must believe that He never slumbers, and He never sleeps. His Loving, Watchful Eye is on the sparrow and will be even more so on each and every one of us. He is Faithful; He is ever Faithful; Great is His Faithfulness.

• It (antichrist) lessens or renders the Anointed One or the anointing to a place of insignificance. There are many ways in which this happens; we will discuss a few later.
• It dishonors Christ and the anointing He may give a church or a minister, and herein lies all of the divisions and partisanship within many churches, denominations and ministers today.
• Antichrist will oppose the Lord, His Word, His Anointing, and all that He is attempting to do in any given city, church or person. This is not always obvious or apparent, and this is why I have addressed that issue in several other teachings, where we discuss the great need and the importance of discernment.
• Finally, as I mentioned above, the spirit of antichrist will usurp, override and attempt to force its way into a church or into our lives where it will strive to abide and rule “in addition to” or “in the room of” the Lord and His anointing. As I said earlier, it is often used to denote contrast, substitution, or that which is opposed to. Many churches and ministers are “opposed to” the Anointing of the Lord and have “substituted” other means and other ways to serve the Lord, and in doing so have actually replaced the anointing of the Lord Jesus Christ -- they have, in effect, substituted “something else” in His stead. O, woe is us, if and when this may happen....

Anything...and I emphatically mean ANYTHING that “takes the place of”, “undermines the Heart of”, or even slightly “shoves aside” the anointing of the Lord Jesus Christ “has the smell of” (or I should say: “has the stench of”) this spirit of antichrist. And I have seen and “smelled” this devilish spirit for many years now. It is repulsive; it is foul and it is more than just a “mere nuisance” and “annoyance” in and among the churches of the Lord Jesus.

However...as foul and as terrible as that antichrist spirit might be, let me be very, very clear --

-- and there is no need whatsoever to fear this spirit of antichrist.

1st John 4:3 “And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh is not of God; this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof you have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. (4) You are of God, little children, and you have overcome them, because Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

We must not insult our Lord in doing such a thing. If we are doing it, let us cease; if we have done it, let us ask His Forgiveness and move on...He is gracious and kind and willing to forgive (for we were young and immature and did not know any better); if we feel tempted to do it, let us lean on Him with all our heart and all our strength, for He is our Source, our Supply, our Jehovah Jireh...the One Who supplies every need we will ever have. Let us rest in Him; let us trust Him with every fiber of our being; let us know...He will never fail us and He will never leave us or forsake us...no matter how loudly the demons of hell may scream otherwise. We will not, dear saints, believe “otherwise” -- we will believe in Him, even as it says in Isaiah 43:10

“You are my witnesses, says the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I AM He. Before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me. (11) I, even I, AM the LORD; and other than Me there is no Saviour. (12) I have declared, and have saved, and I have shown...that I AM God.

(13) Yea, before the day was I AM He, and there is no one else that can deliver out of My Hand. I will work, and who shall prevent it? (14) Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. (15) I AM the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, Your King.”