I decided to make this a blog post because as my friends, I feel completely safe here to voice my beliefs and revelations on ideologies that my brothers and sisters in Christ hold dear. One of these ideologies I have been caught in for years as a Christian is the need for ‘Signs and Wonders’. When you read the bible especially the old testament you see God expressing himself by signs and wonders. This continued in the new testament as Christ conducted his ministry, he healed the sick, raised the dead and exhibited amazing signs and wonders that are indicative of the power of God. Even the apostles conducted signs and wonders in the presence of people, proving that the power of God was upon them. Nothing is wrong with the signs and wonders of God, actually many of us have testimonies where God has moved on our behalf in a miraculous way. The dangers arise when we take something so natural as signs and wonders and make them the focus of our faith and relationship with Christ. We become ‘Show me Christians‘. What do I mean?

Okay bear with me and review some of the statements below and tell me if you practice any of them or it has crossed your mind. I know they have crossed mine:

• Praying to God for a sign on whether you should do something in your life.
• Acknowledging God’s favor in your life only when something good happens as a sign he is working on your behalf.
• Waiting on a sign from God to do something for someone or perform some charitable act.
• Only willing to acknowledge your healing if God provides a miraculous sign by removing the symptoms immediately.

These are just a few instances that Christians tend to fall back on when they lack faith. Yes I said it, a lack of faith leads people to rely on signs and wonders in order to believe. I need you to understand that this enditement is also levied upon myself. I am becoming better at quenching such thoughts, but I still fall prone to them from time to time. It is best described as  ‘Show Me Christians‘, these are believers that need a sign in order to believe. They are walking by sight and not by faith. How can I validate this accusation? Well lets see what the word of God has to say:

Hebrews 11:1

Nowfaithis the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of thingsnotseen.

There it is, faith is hoping and believing in things that are not seen. So asking for a sign in order to support your belief is a lack of faith, you are putting the cart before the wheel. Signs and wonders are products of faith in the word of God. Have you considered that this may be the reason that your prayers are not being answered? You are asking God for things that you don’t even believe is possible unless you see a sign. Where is your faith in his word? The bible says, “Seek yee first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness and everything else shall be added unto you.” It even goes further and tells you not to worry about tomorrow for it will take care of itself. That is the kind of promise we can hold on to and place our faith in, acting accordingly as if the things we need is done. Have we been seeking the Kingdom and having faith for everything else to be added to us? Only then God begins to work because our faith in his word activated his favor. Never forget God is a King his spoken words (promises) are decrees that cannot be broken not even by himself. If we act with our belief rooted in his word, that faith initiates a response from his promise as the criteria is met. How do I know, read the story of the woman with the issue of blood in the bible ‘Luke 8:43-48’. Jesus was unaware what she had planned. Her faith, that touching the garment of the Son of God would heal her, satisfied the criteria for the promise of health and strength from God for his people. Jesus only became aware, when the power of the promise left his body to heal the woman. It is as if the power of the promises of God are automatically attracted to that type of faith, where a believer surrenders all, trusting everything on the word of God.

Okay I want to revisit the statement that Signs and Wonders are products of faith in the word of God. Jesus exhibited the power to do miraculous things on this earth and yet even he was restrained by the lack of faith. Look at this verse;

Matthew 13:57-58

⁵⁷ And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.

⁵⁸ And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Do you see how powerful unbelief can be in the life of a Christian? I am not referring to unbelief in Jesus Christ and salvation, I am referring to unbelief in the word of God. Christians read the word and never apply it in their lives. They beg God for help, even though as a child of God and citizen of the Kingdom, they are entitled to certain things in the word. They also lack faith and become impotent in the kingdom, waiting on signs and wonders to be productive. If you ever want to know how Jesus feels about signs, then read the following;

Matthew 12: 39-40

³⁹ But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

⁴⁰ For as Jonas 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.

This is a powerful rebuke from our Lord. Here are the Pharisees asking their creator for a sign that he is truly who he says he is. Imagine Christ’s patience, he created man and here is man asking him to validate himself to them. These men were dust talking with pride and arrogance to the King of Kings, with a spirit he could recall at any moment. Obviously I am interpreting Christ’s possible feelings in this moment, but Christ’s response above was strong and condeming. He called them evil and adulterous, but is it really evil to ask God for a sign? Why is that so bad? Gidean asked God for signs before he went forward and attacked the Midianites. God provided him with them. The Holy Spirit was even upon him as he conducted in obedience the will of God, even through his lack of faith. Why did God not rebuke him?

Asking someone for a sign is a lack of faith in that person or in something. A sign is proof or validation that something is what its supposed to be or validation that someone can do what they say they can do. If you have read the word of God, asking for a sign is like asking God to validate he can actually uphold the promises he made in the bible before you believe. Who on earth has the wisdom and knowledge to validate the capabilities of God? This is the arrogance we have gained from the wisdom and knowledge of the tree, God forbade Adam to eat from. The bible says without faith you cannot please God. You gain faith by hearing the word of God and believing in it. In the verse above the Pharasees wanted to partake of the signs and wonders without surrendering their faith(belief) to Jesus Christ. Isn’t that what we do when we ask God for a sign? Show me the goods I want, then I will surrender by having faith in you? Faith has to come first before signs and here is why:

Mark 13:22

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

This verse is clear on why christians need to be aware of the dangers of signs and wonders. If your faith is not rooted in the word of God, then when the evil ones perform signs and wonders, your faith shifts from your relationship with Christ, to them, because of the signs. They appear to be similar to what Christ did and you are lead astray. Decieved and in adultery with an idol for a God. If your faith is rooted in Christ and you understand the signs and wonders are a by product of your faith in the word of God, then it is harder or impossible for you to be led astray. You would know the voice of your Lord and will follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit who will guard you from such deception. Some would say this is far fetched, an exaggeration of this issue. Okay I have one question that may bring things into perspective.

How many of you see your job and salary as your source or provision? You make life decisions surrounding your job so as not to affect the source of your provision. Some people have wrapped their very identity as a person into the title they hold at their jobs. Even if it means:

• compromising our morals,
• cutting into God’s time,
• preventing us from putting the time into being the spiritual leaders in our households,
• keeping us from prioritizing raising and guarding our children, as the bible instructs.

Our job takes priority in our lives and we place our faith in it to provide for us. Do you know that thinking is similar to what I was discussing above. We see the fruit (paycheck) weekly or bi-weekly so we can trust in the company to provide if we do what they ask. When God has already provided for us and all we need to do is seek him. Even if it means we may have to change jobs to be obedient to God’s will in our lives. Once you realise your job is not your provider it is God and he can chose to provide for you in an unlimited amount of ways, it frees you from the misplaced idolatry. Now you can maintain a healthy relationship with your job and trust in God for all your needs to be met.

Christ calling the pharasees adulterous makes sense now, because people led by signs can easily switch allegiance. The pharasees chose to be loyal to their laws and religiousity instead of humbling themselves to the Son of God. I still have not forgotten about the question I posed with Gideon in the bible. What was so different that Gideon was not rebuked? Gideon’s heart was different and God knew it, because he searches the hearts of men. Gideon wanted to obey God and his request for a sign was to gain the courage to do so. God had mercy on Gideon and granted him the signs, in order to build his faith to the point that the miracle God wanted to perform was possible. God held his hand all the way to the point Gideon blew the trumpet, which required much faith to do if you know the story of Gideon. God does the same for us in our lives. He shows up and holds our hands in impossible situations, rescuing us from life. Other times, he waits for us to apply the required faith in his promises for him to intervene in our dier circumstances. God’s goal is to grow our faith in him and his Son, to where signs and wonders are no longer shocking but common place in our lives. Having faith (believing) is at the center of a Christian’s salvation and relationship with our Lord and savior. It is the key to God and everything he has for us in his kingdom. The only sign according to Jesus we should be focusing on is said best by him in the following verse;

Matthew 12:38-42

³⁸ Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.

³⁹ But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

⁴⁰ For as Jonas 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.

⁴¹ The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

⁴² The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

Remeber when you are looking for a sign you are moving from a place of belief to unbelief. Just have faith in God, he is watching over you and your family and will guide your footsteps as his word declares. Be obedient to the voice of the Holy Spirit and he will direct your path unto righteousness.