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Men of women of faith of Asper signs, one of the famous one is Gideon, Gideon ask or assigned based on a police to be wet and then to be dry so you, Gideon wanting to be assured of things, seeks for a sign.

In

John Chapter 2, verse 11, when Jesus turns the water into the wine, John tells us that was the first sign that Jesus performed to manifest his glory. And throughout Jesus his ministry, he performed signs not when people were asking for them, but as a confirmation of who he was. He's preached the word with as one, having authority. He healed the lanes of lying.

Sick the the death. All of those indications of who he was, and so there were plenty of opportunities to see signs to confirm who Jesus is was, but they not having a sensitive heart. And like I said, signs really don't produce faith. They're just there.

But also if you will of perfect example of the signs that were there when Jesus came the first time Jesus told us that there will be signs when he comes again, the beginning of those is pestilence and earthquakes and all manner of of bad things happening and expose those are just beginning of the birth pains and so he is given us signs that we can see, just as determining whether.

Very good weather or bad weather. We should be able to determine how close is coming is based on the word of God that he's given us already.

However, I want you also to know that not all signs come from God, and that's a problem. And so I want you to senior Bibles in second Thessalonians.

Chapter 2 sorry verse 7.

He says this.

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, only he who now restrains will do it until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one.

Will be revealed in the Lord will slay with the breath of his mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of his coming. That is, the one who's coming is in accord with the activity of Satan with all power and signs and false wonders and with the deception of wickedness or those.

Who Parish?

Because.

They did not receive the love of truth.

So I should be saved so we see Satan will perform signs and wonders and marvelous things. And so just because there is a sign we're not to get wrapped up and involves it. Oh, that proves something. It needs to be consistent with the word of God because Satan loves to imitate. God imitates.

God, because he wants to be worshipped, imitates God because that we have the Trinity and Satan has Satan and and the Antichrist and the false be the beast. And all of these things. So saying is always trying to replicate that God is already done in. So part of that is he will perform signs and so again assign is a sign as an indication or marker. So one Satan performs his.

Sign it's a marker of who he is and when Jesus performed his signs. It is a varchar of who he is. So now let's discuss what the sign of Jonah is.

And then we find in Jonah chapter one.

And will be starting with verse 15 now, Jonah.

To remind you is a Prophet who.

God Commission to go to Nineveh and preach Salvation to them.

An instead of going because Jonah knew exactly who God is and how compassion, merciful and forgiving he is. That if he presented the word of God, that they might repent. And that was the last thing he wanted. So we got on the ship and he sailed away and went the opposite direction and there was a great storm and the sailors were frightened. And Jonah Mule was happening, kind of could care less.

And then in verse 15 after.

Doing all that they could, they asked. Jonah will work. What else can we do? He says throw me into the sea and they're not really wild about doing that, but they understand through John's testimony that he's running away from God and so the best way for them to be safe is get rid of him because he's the problem. So verse 15 says this, and so they picked up Jonah threw him into the sea and the sea stopped. It's raging.

Then the men feared the Lord Rayleigh, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord.

And made vows and the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow. Jonah and Jonah was in the stomach. Other fish three days and three nights. I want to stop there.

We always here.

People say, Well, Jonah was false, followed by a well no. You swallowed by a great fish. What kind of fish? I don't know. It just says a great fish, which means I really large one, but it wasn't a whale. But then when Jonah is swallowed by this great fish, he prays, which is interesting, is kind of late. Should have been praying before. So invert chapter 2, starting with verse one. It says then John have prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish.

And he said, I called out of my distress to the Lord, and he answered, Maine, I cried for help from the depth of shield. You heard my voice. Now notice it's you heard my voice is talking directly to God and you.

And cast me into the deep into the heart of the sea and the current engulf me.

All your Breakers and billows passed over me so I said I have been expelled from your site. Nevertheless, I will look again.

Toward you and your temple.

Water and compass, Maine to the point of death.

The great deep in golf mean weeds were wrapped around my head.

I descended.

To the root of the mountains, the Earth with its bars was around me forever.

But you have brought me up my brought up my life from the pit, all Lord My God.

While I was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you into your holy temple, those who regard.

Then idles, forsake their faithfulness, but I will sacrificed to you with a voice of Thanksgiving.

That which I have viewed vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the Lord. Now there is a split of opinion on what happens here.

Most or I don't know whether most saw, say, many people.

Believe that what the miracle here out resulting from Jonah's Prayer was that God sustained Jonah alive for three days and three nights in the belly of the fish.

And then after the prayer, and after Jonah acknowledges who got is that he's going to do what God says, we see later that the fish.

Regurgitates him up on dry land.

I don't think that's what's happens. I think Jonah dice, and the reason I think Jonah dies, is it because it says that from the depths of shield and shield is around the place of the dead. So I think Jonah died and the.

Miracle, if you will, is it God Rays. Jonah from the debt.

But either way, whether he was in the belly of this great fish for three days and three nights and returned, or whether he died while he was in the belly of the Great Fish and then returned.

He returned, and so Jesus is in essence, saying just as Jonah laid in the belly of the great fish. I will be in the belly of the tomb, in the ground for three days.

Is in three nights in, just as Jonah returned, I will return, so he said, you wanna sign that's the sign I will be in the belly of the earth for three days and three nights. And quite frankly, if you will, that is the sign which we all believers.

Have come to accept because our faith is based on the resurrection of Jesus is not based solely on his teaching.

If he didn't rise from the dead.

Yeah, there's some good things he had to say. We ought to love people, but some of the other things he has to teach, you know not too sure, there are other things you requires of us were to count the cost of being his disciple.

And so as we take a look at that, we say we follow the Lord and even our confession is that we believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, and so the sign of Jonah is Jesus death, burial for three days, and his resurrection. So he tells him that's the sign as he only signed, I'm giving you, although for believers, his disciples and others.

He gives other signs. As John says, the sign of turning water into wine. The healing of deaf, dumb, blind. All those other types, people that only the Messiah would do.

And so, um.

That's the sign of Jonah, an Jesus performed it. The next question is kind of related to that. It says in Mark 8 verse 12, the Pharisees wanted.

Jesus to give them a sign to prove he was the Messiah, so it's a similar request.

And then the but the real question is what kind of sign, if any, would have convinced them.

So here's my word. One word answer none.

It's obvious that as they asked Jesus for assigning, they only did it to test him, not to come to faith. But I want to show you something that's very interesting that shows that they had no.

Interest in accepting even the sign of Jonah, and so in Matthew, Chapter 28.

Starting with verse 11.

Now this is after Jesus's resurrection. This is after his disciples have seen the empty tomb that the women saw it. We reported it to the Apostles that Peter and John went to the grave, saw that it was empty, and all these things were happening. While there were some other people who knew what was happening and that was the soldiers who is there to guard the tomb. And so it says in verse 11.

Now, while they were on their way.

Some of the guards came into the city and reported to the chief priest all that had happened or what had happened. There was a earthquake. There is a moving of the stone. There was an Angel. The tomb was empty. There was a resurrection so all these things they reported.

And when they had assembled with the elders and the consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, You are to say, the disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep. Now there asking some great things from these soldiers, because it was their duty to guard the grave.

Just as now, if you are fall asleep on guard duty, there are really some serious consequences. In this time the consequences were death, so they paid a lot large sum of money for them to lie and say we were asleep. The disciples came in stolen.

So you notice.

That Jesus said, the only sign that you will receive is a sign of Jonah. Jesus was in the tomb three days and three nights, and then he rose from the grit rave.

Hearing the evidence from the soldiers who were not disciples.

Who are there just doing their job?

They refuse to believe, and so instead of believing they paid money, large sums of money for a lie.

And it says.

And this.

You are to say his disciples told while we were sleep.

And if it should come to the governor's.

Ears.

We will.

Win him over.

And you will be.

Save an out of camp out of trouble.

So.

If.

The greatest sign that had ever take place.

Was one that was prophesied in the scriptures.

Psalm 22 as a matter of fact, an Isaiah 53 in another place is in the scriptures and matter of fact.

After Jesus's resurrection, we see that he walks with a couple of disciples on the road to Amaze, and he opens up the scriptures to show them that they speak of him. He's told the The Pharisees in the Sadducees. You look through the Scriptures.

They speak of Maine, and so Jesus is saying if you simply read the scriptures, you will know who I am.

And the sign that you were wanting I saw give you 1 and you refuse to believe. So my answer is simple.

There is no sign.

That they would come to believe in Jesus.

And that's why it's very.

Problematic when we asked for signs because when we asked for signs, it probably doesn't mean that we want.

And increasing faith. We asked for signs as we want what we want when we want it.

And the problem as I've said, is often times when God gives us an answer to assign as long after we're gone. But as in King, as is.

Example.

He said you can ask anything you want. I'll give it to you. He was patient with getting an said and not only did the one test that it didn't ask for did the 2nd test and will see others who are weak in their faith and are unsure.

But ultimately

the sign doesn't give you the.

Except.

The word of God.

So that's the greatest sign that we can receive. Understand his word.

Place it in our hearts and our minds, not just to know it, but to live it without. Let's have a word of prayer, and then will include father. We thank you.

That you did give a sign.

And then because of that sign, we have come to faith.

Because that tomb is empty.

That you were placed in the belly.

Of the Earth.

Not just asleep.

Not just recovering.

But dead.

But because you had the authority to pick up your life again.

You walked out of that tune.

And there are those.

Will attempt to lie and distort the truth.

And Lord.

We ask that we would not be caught up in that.

God, that our faith would be in you.

Not in science that our faith would be in you, not the power of other people. Their faith would be in you.

And that we would know you so well in your word so well.

That just says those who can tell what the weather will be like.

We can tell.

Your movement in this Earth.

Thank you for your love for your mercy.

And for the signs that you've given us in Jesus name, I pray Amen.

Have a great rest of your day.