His life began with miracles...signs and wonders on every hand. His conception was announced to Mary by an angel (Luke 1:28-38), and to Joseph in a dream. (Matthew 1:20-21) It was told to them that this child would be conceived of the Holy Spirit, and He would be called the Son of God (Luke 1:32-35) As the shepherds watched their flocks, a multitude of the heavenly hosts appeared in the sky, proclaiming the glory of God (Luke 2:8-17); and a star was seen of the wise men who traveled from the east in search of the Christ Child, that they might worship Him (Matthew 2:9-10). Signs, wonders and miracles surrounded His birth.
As He began His public ministry, the miracles the people witnessed when they were near Him astonished them. In Cana, He turned water into wine (John 2:1-11), He cast out demons, healed the sick, raised the dead. He walked on water, multiplied the fish and loaves to feed thousands of people. He opened blinded eyes, made the lame to walk, and caused leprosy to disappear instantly. All these things He did over and over again, yet many skeptics still did not believe that He was the Son of God, the Savior of the World.
And even today, He is still performing all these same mighty miracles in the lives of His people around the world. But the message I want to share with you is this…
You cannot live on dreams, visions and spiritual revelations!
Many Christians today are basing the foundation of their faith in miracles, signs and wonders. Instead of seeking the Miracle Worker, they are seeking the signs which He performs. Sometimes we are led to believe that unless we are among those who have such “spiritual experiences” then we aren’t counted among the elite of the Christian faith. In our society today, “religion” is popular, and we have become a generation who seeks after a sign.
I am reminded of the scripture in Matt 12:38-45. Verses 38-39 says, “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” In John 6:30 the crowd also sought a sign. “Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do?” And Mark 8:11, “Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.” And even on the cross, one of the thieves being crucified with Jesus asked for a miracle, “Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” (Luke 23:39) Even after His resurrection, when He had appeared to the other disciples, Thomas required a sign, “The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25) The ironic thing is that anyone who was around Jesus for any length of time saw many signs and wonders, yet there were some who still didn’t believe He was the Son of God.
To the scribes and Pharisees He only promised, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matt 12:39-40) He was speaking to them of His own death, burial and resurrection, which had the power to save them from eternal damnation, but instead, they were concerned for temporal things. At this point, please understand, it was never those who truly needed and believed Him for a miracle that Jesus rebuked, only those who sought Him for a performance or a show.
How often do you hear people today making promises to God? “I’ll serve God if only He will get me out of this mess I’m in.” We’ve all done it. But God doesn’t want conditions placed on our love for Him any more than we want conditional love. He wants us to love Him because He is God, and because of His great love for us. We can’t put a price tag on our relationship with God. Many times we want to see proof that He is who He claims to be. There are even books and teachings on how to write your own ticket with God. We try to put our demands on Him or we try to bribe God and fit Him into our little molds and boxes. But He will not fit!! God will be God, and He is the One to be exalted. He desires our hearts and for our motives to be pure, and our love for Him to be true, just as His love for us is true.
Many churches today emphasize receiving miracles, dreaming dreams and having visions, but if we will but seek Jesus, He will do for us whatever we need. If you need healing, you don’t need to seek a miracle, but you need to seek Jesus. If you need finances, you don’t need to seek finances, but you need to seek Jesus. If you need love, you don’t need to seek a mate…just seek Jesus. He is ALL you have need of! Everything you will ever need is found in Him. He will take care of His own in the way that He knows is best for each of us.
In John 6:26, a crowd had been following Jesus and He said to them, “…I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” He was looking at their heart motive. They had seen the miracles, but that didn’t cause them to believe on the Son of God. All they cared about was that their temporal needs were met. He is interested in our temporal needs, but we don’t need to put our priorities on that.
In I Cor. 1:22-23, Paul said, “For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness” Paul wants us to put our attentions back where it should be in the first place, back on Jesus.
Now, I am not saying that the Lord no longer performs miracles in our day. That is far from the truth. But what I am saying is that we don’t need to seek the miracle, but we need to seek the Miracle Maker Himself, and we will see miracles that we never expected.
The Psalmist wrote, “What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalm 8:4) Just who are we that God would send His only begotten Son, to leave the splendors of Heaven, to come to this dirty, sin-filled world, to be born of a woman in a lowly manger so long ago, to live a sinless life, and to die a brutal, horrible death? Who are we that He would take our sins upon His own body and pay the price on our behalf, and that He would be raised again on the third day to the newness of life? What is man that He would offer us forgiveness of sins, giving us access to the Almighty God, that we could enter into His throne of grace and call Him “Abba Father”? And who are we that we could live for eternity to reign and rule with Him? What is mankind, that He is mindful of us?
Won’t you seek the Lord? Not for what He will do for you, and yes He will do much for you. But won’t you seek Him rather for Who He is…THE KING OF KINGS AND THE LORD OF LORDS?
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