How does God speak to us? (Luke 11d)

How does God speak to us?

Luke 11:29-32

Key verse 11:30

Years ago, I was greatly troubled because I had to decide on my future direction but I was not sure of God’s will. I prayed and prayed. But I was not convinced. Then, someone encouraged me to meet with a servant of God who had a spiritual gift to see other’s future. It was very tempting because if the person really could tell me God’s will for me I would not have to be troubled anymore. In some sense I looked for a sign form God. Like me, if you look for a direction about what to do after graduation, what kind of job to have, how to serve God in the future, or whom to marry, you might wish that God might show you a sign so that you could be convinced about God’s will for you. Today we will talk about how we can know God’s will and how God speaks to us. I pray that we may know the biblical way of knowing God and his will for us?

In the previous passage, when they saw Jesus driving out a mute demon, some people said that Jesus drove out the demon by Beelzebub. Some others asked him for a sign from heaven. In response to them, Jesus said that that If he drove out a demon by Beelzebub, the kingdom of Beelzebub would be divided and thus it was nonsense that he drove out the demon by Beelzebub. Rather, he said that he drove out the demon by the finger of God. In today’s passage, Jesus answered to those who asked for a sign from heaven (11:16).

²⁹ As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 

When more people gathered around Jesus, he began to say that the generation was wicked as it asked for a sign. Jews believed that if a person claimed that he came from God he should show a sign from heaven. In fact, God used signs to reveal or prove himself particularly in the Old Testament period. One of those examples is Gideon. One day when Midian invaded Israel, the angel of the LORD called Gideon to fight Midian and save Israel. But Gideon said, “Pardon me, my lord, but how can I save Israel?...give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.” And the angel touched the meat and the unleavened bread Gideon placed on the rock and then fire flared and consumed the offering. Like this, God strengthened his servants and his people by showing signs. So asking God a sign is not necessarily bad if your motivation is to purely seek God’s will and not to test him.

But the problem of the people in Jesus’ time was that though they saw Jesus’ miracles so many times, they did not believe in him at all. Rather, they demanded more signs to test Jesus. When they asked him for a sign, Jesus finished his public ministry and was heading to Jerusalem to die. He had already shown them many signs, which were sufficient for them to believe in him. It was pointless to show them more signs. So, Jesus called the generation wicked and evil. Nothing is wickeder than unbelief. Nothing is more evil than rejecting and testing Jesus even though ample evidence is shown.

However, Jesus did not give up on them. He said that he would show them one more sign, the sign of Jonah. What is the sign of Jonah? How would Jesus be a sign to the generation like Jonah?

³⁰ For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 

Jonah was a prophet. One day God called him to preach in the foreign city of Niveveh. But Jonah refused it and ran away because he hated the Ninevites. Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria, a bellicose and cruel people who harassed Israel. Jonah wished Nineveh to be destroyed. But God wanted to save them. So, he refused to obey God’s ’s command and sailed to Tarshish to run away from Nivevah. God sent a great wind and the ship was about to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried to his own god. But it was of no avail. And then they found out that Jonah was running away from God in disobedience. Eventually, Jonah was voluntarily thrown into the sea to calm the raging sea. But God sent a great fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. Inside the fish he acknowledged God’s sovereignty. After three days God commanded the fish and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. For three days in the belly of the fish, he was not decomposed but he was still alive. This is the sign of Jonah and Jesus would be a sign to the generation in a similar way by being buried for three days and rising from the dead. So in Matt 12:40, Jesus said to the Pharisees and teachers of the law who asked for a sign, “ For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” The only sign he would show them was his death, burial, and resurrection. This would be the ultimate and final sign for them. And this would be their last opportunity to believe in Jesus. If they failed again, they would face God’s judgment.

Now Jesus was pointing out their unbelief and warning them of God’s judgment by presenting two examples they knew well.

³¹ The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here. 

The story of the Queen of the South is detailed in 1 Kings 10:1-13 and 2 Chr 9:1-12. Probably, she was the queen of Ethiopia or one of southern Arabian kingdoms. She heard about Solomon’s wisdom. She traveled a long distance to ask him hard questions. Solomon answered all her questions without problem. She was so impressed and realized that Solomon’s wisdom came from God. (1 King 10:1,9; 1 Chr 9:8) Even such a gentile queen came to hear Solomon’s wisdom from the ends of the earth. The queen was so eager to know the truth and then came to know God. But the people in Jesus’ time rather rejected Jesus though he is much greater than Solomon. It would have been so foolish and wicked to the queen of South. She was better than the Jews and would condemn the people of the generation rise at the judgment day.

Jesus continued to point out the problem with the generation, telling them another example.

³² The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here.

After being getting out the big fish, Jonah obeyed God and went to the city of Nineveh. He proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” But Jonah did not expect them to accept his word and still he did not want them to be saved. (Jonah 4:1-3) So probably he preached reluctantly and quietly. However, surprisingly, when they heard Jonah’s message the Ninevites believed God and fasted. The fear of God also fell upon the king of Nineveh so that he humbled himself, covering himself with sackcloth and sitting down in the dust. He even issued a decree that all the people and animals fast and urgently call on God, giving up their evil ways and violence. The Nivevites were so evil and violent. But they responded to Jonah’s message with repentance. Seeing this, God relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. (Jonah 3:1-10) Such evil people repented at the short message Jonah reluctantly delivered. How much more they would do if they saw Jesus’ miracles and heard his word? The Ninevites would condemn the people of the generation at the judgment day.

By saying these two examples, Jesus revealed two things. First, he is much greater than Solomon and Jonah. Jesus is the ultimate wisdom and the ultimate prophet. In fact, he is God himself and he was right there among them. This was amazing grace for the people. Secondly, by saying this, he pointed out that even such gentiles repented at the word of God but the people of the generation refused to believe Jesus’ word and rejected him. What they had heard from Jesus and had seen what he did was sufficient for them to believe in him, but they did not believe him. Rather, they demanded more signs to test him. So they were wicked and would not avoid God’s judgment.

Their fundamental problem was that they sought after sign rather than the word of God. The reason Jesus showed signs was to help them believe his word. Jesus was so frustrated and sad with the sign-seeking generation. The sign-seeking generation is unbelieving and so evil and wicked to God.

What about this generation? This generation is wicked too and actually it is wickeder than Jesus’ time. Why? The ultimate sign from God, which is Jesus’ death and resurrection, has been already shown, but the people of this generation do not believe in God. Wherever you go, you can easily find churches and the Bibles. By one click, you can access all kinds of Bible materials. What else do we need to believe in God? This generation is wicked.

But I am not talking about unbelievers only. The Jews who asked for a sign were God-believing people. Many Christians today also seek after sign like them. I heard years ago that many Korean believers go to fortunetellers at the beginning of the year to see their fortune. Some churches emphasize speaking in tongues or healing. I believe that God still shows such supernatural things even today. But the problem is that such people go to great lengths to have such experiences so that they miss or neglect the most important thing – the word of God.  Nothing must be put over the word of God. 

Many Christians seek after some kind of signs particularly when they have problems or don’t know what to do. And they go to revivals or look for some special people to find something that they think can solve their problems.

One of our Bible students was very promising. She was passionate about God. But she got easily uneasy if she planed out things ahead of time. But as you know life is unpredictable and so her plans did not work as expected and she sought after something sure. And then she sought after signs from God for her future direction. And then she saw something in her dream and thought that was God’s sign for her and left our ministry. I blessed her but was very concerned about her faith, which was based on signs rather than the word of God. 

Like her, many Christians have such desire and tendency. If things go well, they think that is a sign that God is with them. If not, they don’t feel that God is with them. We have sinful tendency to see and tell God’s will and his presence by some kind of signs or events. I would say that seeking a sign from God is not necessarily bad. But what concerns me is that we depend on some kind of signs or someone’s testimony rather than the word of God, which is the most reliable and important thing. Signs are for us to believe the word of God. They cannot replace the word of God or give us ultimate solutions.

God has already shown the greatest and ultimate sign, Jesus’ death and resurrection. Before Jesus came, God showed himself and worked through many miracles and signs. But since Jesus came, he works through Jesus and his word.

So, the author of the book of Hebrews said to those who sought after something else rather than Jesus.

“² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. ³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” (Heb 1:2,3)

John 1:1,14 also declare, " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

God speaks to us through his word. He reveals himself to us through his word. His word became flesh and came to us, who is Jesus Christ. God is with us and leads us through his word. God is pleased with those who fully put their trust in his word and believe it.  So, Jesus said in Luke 11:28, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” He did not say that those who believe signs were blessed. He said that those who believe the word of God were blessed.

So seek the word of God. Do not harden your hearts when you hear the word of God. (Heb 3:7,8) The word of God is your life, your direction, your strength, and the solution to all your problems.

Jesus says to those who have no confidence in him, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6) Jesus says to those who are in need, “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35) He says to those who need guidance and protection, “I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:11) He says to those who are under the power of death, “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25) Now God speaks to us through his word. We can find the solutions to all our problems in the word of God. So, 2 Timothy 3:16 reads, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."

As mentioned at the beginning, when I was troubled about my future direction, God helped me put my trust in his word rather than some kind of sign. So, I did not go to see the person who could tell other’s fortune. Rather, I put my trust in God’s word and waited on him. One of the words I held to was Matt 6:33,34: “³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” When I put my trust in his word, God gave me peace and led me in his way. I have learned that believing in his word has to do with trust in God. The reason I believe his word is that I trust in him – his faithfulness, his grace, and his power. I trust in God so I believe in his word. Nothing else can be more pleasing to God than this.

His word is trustworthy and lasts forever. The word of God does not say all about our problems. Yet, God wants you to put your trust in his word. When we put our trust in him and so his word, God will lead us in the best way and you will see him and his faithfulness and his power.

Do you remember what Abraham did when he did not see his son? Against all hope, he believed God’s word and then God was pleased with him and gave him a son. (Rom 4:18-21)

Faith in his word will lead you to life. Do not seek after signs but rather read and study the word of God diligently and hold on to it. Then you will see God. King David to Solomon in 1 Chr 28:9, “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.”

Today, we learned that God is pleased with one who hears the word of God and believes it. Sign-seeking faith does not please God because he had already shown the ultimate sign – the death and resurrection of Jesus. No more greater sign will be given. But foolishly people still seek signs. But we believers seek and believe the word of God.

Which one do you want to follow, a sign or the word of God? Which do you hold on to? I do believe the word of God so I hold to it more than a sign. His word came into the word in flesh and it was revealed and proven by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Today, God speaks to us through his word.

by David Yun