A Sign Seeking People

Matthew 12:38-42

Introduction: This past week I saw a new report about the drought in Texas. It appears a lake had gone so dry that fish and been killed off in large numbers. This fish kill had turned the water red. Well a preacher began a public campaign saying this was a sign from God that the end was near. Many preachers and pastors of nationally know churches have published material on signs and if handled properly there is nothing wrong with it. When we start looking for signs we must ask ourselves the question is it because of our belief (faith) or because of our unbelief (lack of faith)? When we seek signs we can learn a lot about ourselves if we are willing to look deep enough. This morning look with me at Gods word while we consider “A Sign Seeking People.” Notice with me first….

I. The practice of Gods people V.v.38-39

Simply put the Pharisees were sign seekers. In verse 24 the Pharisees had accused Jesus of having authority not from God but from the devil, now they are challenging Him, not from faith but from unbelief, asking for a sign to prove who His claims. This came from the leaders of Israel, the religious elect, those who were supposed to know better. Jesus was plain and precise when He called them “an evil and adulterous generation…”

The only sign Jesus had came from the scriptures, the sign of Jonah which came as…

II. The promise of Gods word V.v. 40-41

The fact that Jonah had been three days and three nights in a fishes belly and Jonah had been sent forth alive to preach God s word of repentance to the Ninevites was evidence Jonah had been sent of God. As such the people of Nineveh repented.

Yet there was one greater than Jonah standing in front of them and they rejected Him.

The hearts of men and women in the church today are colder, harder and wickeder than at any time in history. Just as Israel had been delivered from captivity the following generations refused to acknowledge it and chose to return to another form of captivity, spiritual captivity. To this end the people of Nineveh will stand in judgment against Israel because they refused to repent when one mightier than Jonah preached to them.

Today the church is cold and indifferent to the lost and unchurched they prefer to follow a form of religion instead of proclaiming the gospel. The church will give account for the laziness we have toward the gospel. If God would raise up Nineveh to judge Israel, who will he raise up to Judge America?

At one time America was a people who could claim….

III.The power of a godly witness V. 42

It was a godly witness that drew Sheba from Ethiopia to Solomon in order to learn more about the God who blessed Israel to this extent. The Pharisees had traded this witness for the influence of worldly religion, to that end the queen of the south would stand in judgment against Israel for abandoning her witness.

Once upon a time America had a witness of being a Christian nation, we are in danger of trading it away for the praise, popularity and prestige of worldly fame. Today we want to welcome every pagan religion on the face of the earth, glorify it and give it an equal place with Christianity. We want to give Mohammad and Buddha and equal place with God on the mantles of our society, it is sin and we must repent.

When America had the power of a godly witness we had the respect of the world and the fear of evil pagan nations. We are trading the blessings of God for the praises of men and mark my words we will be held in judgment.

When the people of God become evil, ignore the promise of Gods word and deny the godly witness they are blessed with we soon are faced with….

IV. The perils of our works V.v. 43-45

John the Baptist had came and preached repentance to the nation of Israel and they had heeded but they never completed the process. Their house was cleaned by repentance and the Pharisees had garnished it with religion but God was no where to be found. They left themselves vulnerable to the forces of hell, they allowed the demon of idolatry to move back in and bring seven more with it.

America last experienced a great awakening or wide spread revival at the end of the 19^th century into the beginning of the 20^th century, when such great men as Charles Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, and Billy Sunday we preaching across this land. Our houses were cleaned and prepared for the Son of God to once again dwell in them. Then came the demon of legalism which opened the door for liberalism and then every ideology known to man followed. Church became about works and it has gone downhill ever since.

Today we base a person’s Christianity on the good deeds they do instead of the witness they have. We pick and choose how the word of God applies to the individual’s life base upon their popularity, prosperity or influence. We are suffering from the perils of our works.

Conclusion: The question we are faced with today is “what are we going to do about it?” We really have only two choices, leave things as they are and wait on God’s judgment. Or, apply II Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” It’s not going to begin in Washington, or Raleigh or the county commissioners or the city council, it must begin with you and I 1Peter 4:17 asks us “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” In other words if judgment begins with the Christian and if the church is not right with God what will become of those we are supposed to be witness too? Are you waiting on God to meet you on your terms, are you asking God to show you something that He has already made plain and clear? Don’t hold out on God He may just hold you accountable….

Close as God leads…..