91: Signs from God: the historic highway
I have had some weeks to reflect on the QUESTION of how we know if it is God speaking to us. (see post
I think we need more than faith, belief or knowledge.
To finish with conviction, God has historically provided a way to convince people unequivocally that he has spoken to them, and that is by way of signs.
God has both given a sign, and been asked a sign, in both Testaments.
And we have those experiences too. God sometimes lets us know by a sign, or we might ask a sign to convince us we are on the right path.
What I am not sure about is if we should regularly ask for a sign or not. Does it indicate a lack of faith or indicate a desire to please?
Is it presumptive to ask for a sign?
scripture: Mat 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
Mar 8:12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.
Luk 11:29 And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.
Luk 11:30 For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.
This has been clearly talking about wicked people, not wicked because they require a sign , but wicked people requiring a sign.
I think on balance the only danger is to ourselves psychologically: we need to develop a confidence in our service to God, but on the other hand people tell me there is no law against much praying …although as you know from earlier posts I think we pray too much if the prayer is inappropriate to our readiness.
I personally have had many signs. I can therefore easily believe in Gods will for me.
Hence my enthusiasm and zeal for this work, this site.
One thing I often wonder is, why does God conceal himself?
And Satan does too, appearing in camouflage as an angel of light..?
2Cr 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
It must be a privilege for God to speak directly to us, yet sometimes it can have the effect of …making us angry, we want to escape, we don’t want to listen, don’t want to obey…etc.
Jon 1:1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
Jon 1:2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
Jon 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
But once we say to God, OK I am willing, the signs suddenly become welcome, warm and fuzzy. It is with relief we can be assured of his direction and approval.
Yet the signs are not always “religious”: they might well be real life, co-incidences, songs, a word in season, strange behaviour.
So for me, how do we know it is God speaking, to me, it is about the reassurance from signs and then the belief by faith and the conviction of knowing.
For me to know if God has spoken to someone else it requires me to see the evidence of good spiritual fruit in the result. But I have to remember that fruit does not always appear in the same season as the growth of the branch or the flowering of the tree.
It might be a season on, but fruit appears following the flower. And it doesn’t appear on dead wood. So we would look for life in the branch, feeding from the root, flowering in season, and the bearing of fruit.
I think we need more than faith, belief or knowledge.
To finish with conviction, God has historically provided a way to convince people unequivocally that he has spoken to them, and that is by way of signs.
God has both given a sign, and been asked a sign, in both Testaments.
And we have those experiences too. God sometimes lets us know by a sign, or we might ask a sign to convince us we are on the right path.
What I am not sure about is if we should regularly ask for a sign or not. Does it indicate a lack of faith or indicate a desire to please?
Is it presumptive to ask for a sign?
scripture: Mat 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
Mar 8:12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.
Luk 11:29 And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.
Luk 11:30 For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.
This has been clearly talking about wicked people, not wicked because they require a sign , but wicked people requiring a sign.
I think on balance the only danger is to ourselves psychologically: we need to develop a confidence in our service to God, but on the other hand people tell me there is no law against much praying …although as you know from earlier posts I think we pray too much if the prayer is inappropriate to our readiness.
I personally have had many signs. I can therefore easily believe in Gods will for me.
Hence my enthusiasm and zeal for this work, this site.
One thing I often wonder is, why does God conceal himself?
And Satan does too, appearing in camouflage as an angel of light..?
2Cr 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
It must be a privilege for God to speak directly to us, yet sometimes it can have the effect of …making us angry, we want to escape, we don’t want to listen, don’t want to obey…etc.
Jon 1:1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
Jon 1:2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
Jon 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
But once we say to God, OK I am willing, the signs suddenly become welcome, warm and fuzzy. It is with relief we can be assured of his direction and approval.
Yet the signs are not always “religious”: they might well be real life, co-incidences, songs, a word in season, strange behaviour.
So for me, how do we know it is God speaking, to me, it is about the reassurance from signs and then the belief by faith and the conviction of knowing.
For me to know if God has spoken to someone else it requires me to see the evidence of good spiritual fruit in the result. But I have to remember that fruit does not always appear in the same season as the growth of the branch or the flowering of the tree.
It might be a season on, but fruit appears following the flower. And it doesn’t appear on dead wood. So we would look for life in the branch, feeding from the root, flowering in season, and the bearing of fruit.
posted by Ross at 2:26 pm
2 Comments:
Our faith allows us to recognise signs, to believe them, and to ask for them. On the other hand, signs teach us to believe, signs propogate and multiply faith.
the "evil" people wanting signs ... I think their motives were wrong, having nothing to do with Love of Jesus or Love of what was right. Like that "generation of vipers" - the Pharisees of the time, only wanting forewarning so they could know to flee from the wrath that was coming to them.
.missus r
Exactly.
Is that r for rahab?
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