Signs: Do they still happen? Why?

Someone asked me recently, “What’s the deal with signs?”

A short response to that might be summed up by Bill Johnson’s quote: “If you’re not going anywhere new, then you don’t need signs.”

I think any conscientious self-respecting saint aspires to grow into new places in God.  And if we’re growing into new places then ‘signs’ become a road-sign to help us know that we’re on the right road.  This is no different from our dependence upon a map or GPS in our travels to a new destination.  Signs help secure our hearts in confidence that we’re being led by His presence. 

Here are a few reasons that I like signs.

1)  They give indication of Heaven’s involvement and favor.
2)  They help convince the doubting mind of God’s reality and nearness. 
3)  They serve to surround our lives with frequent expressions of Father’s love.

And what does (perfect) love do?  It drives fear away! (I John 4:18)  So if we’re having fear/insecurity issues, maybe we’re not having enough evidence of Father’s love expressed in our life.  

Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God explains His ‘gold standard’ of authenticating His word, by requiring “two or three witnesses” to establish a thing (II Cor 13:1; Deut 19:15; Matt 18:16, etc).  

Some believers say that we shouldn’t use signs or fleeces now-a-days because Holy Spirit abides in us and he gave us a good brain to use.  To that I would ask, “So how is your track record when it comes to making decisions?”  If you’re satisfied with your percentage of success, then stick with your method.  If you’re disappointed occasionally, then you may want to try another option.”  I’ve presented my tried and tested method here and some tools here.

Here’s a side-bar question that deserves some serious consideration: In our walk with God, when does He get the opportunity to exercise His sovereignty in our decision-making?  Do we invite Him… or does He have to invade… or do we end up paying the consequences of doing it ourselves?  And what commentary does our answer say about our relationship with Him?

Others say that a believer shouldn’t ask for signs… we shouldn’t seek God for his hand (gifts/things/signs), we should only seek His face (His heart/presence).  But if we get His hand, then just look up a little higher and we’ll see His face.  They come together, if we want them.  

But God so wants to establish us in His love that He’ll use any method to confirm His love to us.  He even asks us to ask Him for a sign!  It’s true!

“Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” – Isa 7:11

Ahaz the king, responds with, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!”  But God is so committed to establish us that He responds, in essence, “Do you think you are going to weary Me?  I’m going to give you a sign anyway…”

I’m confident that the mindset that shuns signs, robs us of more opportunities to hear God’s voice and see His love demonstrated around us.

Jesus said that signs would follow those who believe.

And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will 1) drive out demons; they will 2) speak in new tongues; they will 3) pick up snakes with their hands, and if they 4) drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will 5) lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.” – Mark 16:18

But it goes without saying that these five signs are not the total scope of signs available to believers.  Just look around in our modern times and we can see many other signs attesting to the “believing” saints.

So what signs are acceptable on our list?  Is our list ever-growing?  Could creator God create a sign that we have never heard of?  Would that be okay with us?  Are we looking for more signs… or trying to disprove the signs?  Here’s a list of a few current ones:

Gold dust/gold flakes/gold teeth
Feathers –
Angel appearances/lights – Acts 20:8
Gem stones – cut/uncut
Meteorites –
Pennies –
Manna –
Fleeces –
Glory cloud – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQrTjbzbByA
Rain without clouds… or inside buildings –
Laughter/tears –
Shivers/chicken skin/goosebumps –
Oil flowing out of a Bible, walls, pulpits, palms of hands –

Are we multi-lingual?  How many ‘languages’/signs occur in our life?  Are we fluent in these languages?  Are we familiar enough to understand what they mean when these signs show up?  Think of it; if God can only speak to us through the Bible, then we can only hear from Him when we’re reading it.  Wouldn’t it be awesome for Him to be able to speak through anything at anytime?  And if we’re familiar with the unique ‘language’ that He’s speaking at the time, then our lives can get fortified accordingly. 

This is normal part of life for the believing believer (Mk 16:18).  So, let’s say it together, “Lord, we invite Your voice and presence to manifest in any way You would like.  Amen!”

Soon, I’ll post some personal stories of signs.

— MLH

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