What the Bible says about Expectations about Signs and Miracles
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Judges 6:13 Does this not sound modern? We have all probably heard someone say, "If there's a God, why doesn't He do something? Why does He allow all this violence on our streets? Why does He allow rapists to roam freely? Why does God allow people to be drug addicts? Why does He allow wars to rage? Why does He allow ships to be sunk?" The same can be asked about almost any disaster. "Why does God allow earthquakes? Why does God allow massive forest fires? Why does God allow rainstorms to cause mudslides and flooding?" And about relationships: "Why is there so much divorce? Why can't the races get along? Why is there so much tension between people?" When they ask such questions, people are really asking, "Where is God? Why doesn't He work miracles to clear all of this up? Why doesn't God act when we need him? If God is so kind and merciful, why doesn't He intervene to deliver us?" Gideon's statement shows his expectations of how he thought his and the nation's problems should be resolved. It was essentially, "Let God do it!" Never mind that the Israelites were committing great evils. They were willing to sweep that under the rug. When people say something similar today, they are doing just what Gideon did. They are putting evil, the nation's sins, to the side and questioning God. "Why doesn't He do something about it?" He could well ask in response, "Why are you not doing something to improve your lives?" The Israelites were indeed suffering at the hands of enemies, but they wanted God to remove the pain by working a miracle. Almost every American newspaper once featured a page or even a section covering religion. In that part of the newspaper would appear advertisements for itinerant evangelists planning to visit the area. Such ads would say something to the effect that the evangelist would put on a revival. Sometimes the presenting organization would send out direct-mail flyers to individual homes. These revival ads almost always pushed the same theme. They would proclaim miracle healings, miracle handkerchiefs, miracle meetings, and miracle messages. They will even proclaim miracle magazines and miracle publishing houses. The evangelist might even claim to have the gift of working miracles. Simple people are hungry to seek out these frauds because of the pain they suffer. They have problems and want them resolved quickly. So they flock to evangelistic campaigns and revivals. Somebody lays hands on them, utters a prayer, and "Voila!" the problems are solved. The miracle-working magician—God, supposedly—has come to the rescue! There is nothing unusual about this miraculous approach to solving life's problems. Satan preys on deceived people's expectations about God and His purpose; they have been deceived into believing that God should work miracles on demand. It may not be stated that way, but the idea is present. Phony preachers play on people's skewed expectations about God. John W. Ritenbaugh Is God a Magician? Related Topics: Blinded by Expectations | Expectations about Signs and Miracles | Expectations Blind us to Truth | Miracles

John 1:14 Near the beginning of his gospel, John makes an astonishing declaration. Though it may be familiar to us, having read it often, its singularity should still electrify us: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). To the Greek mind, that a god—let alone the God—would debase himself by becoming flesh and blood was preposterous. John's announcement was a psychological earthquake, a force that violently shook reality, requiring a reevaluation of all thought. As fantastic as this was, almost as astounding is John's earlier declaration: "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him" (John 1:11). Whether we understand "His own" to be limited to Israel and Judah or to comprise all men, the essence is the same: God became a man, but His now-fellow men would not accept Him. At every turn, He was doubted, challenged, and scorned by people blinded and enslaved by their expectations of what God should be like. With rare exception, the people did not recognize who He was, and they did not believe Him when He told them because their minds already had a firm image of what the Messiah should be like, as well as how the prophecies of His coming should be fulfilled. Their ideas about these things were so ironclad that they were unable to recognize the reality standing in front of them. The people of Jesus' time had expectations about where the Messiah should come from (John 1:46) and about what He should do and not do (Matthew 11:19; 12:2, 10; 15:2; 17:24)—and when (Mark 2:24; 3:2; John 5:8-10). They had expectations about the rituals and traditions they thought He and His followers should keep (Matthew 15:2; Mark 7:1-5), about what He should say (Matthew 15:12; 19:3, 21-22), about whom He should associate with (Matthew 9:11; 11:19; Mark 2:16), and about how He should do His job (Matthew 16:21-22). They had expectations about His signs and miracles (Matthew 12:38; 16:1; 26:67-68; 27:40, 42; Mark 8:11; John 2:18). They even had expectations about which family He should be from (Matthew 13:55-57; Mark 6:3)! Essentially, they expected their Savior to validate everything they already believed. Rejecting any suggestion that they did not have it all figured out, their expectations kept them from seeing the Son of God when He appeared in their midst! Their expectations not only blinded them to the reality of Immanuel ("God with us"), but also caused them to persecute and ultimately kill this One who did not conform to their ideas. This difficulty is not unique to the first century. A core part of everyone is his perspective, his mental map of the world, the lens through which he sees everything. It develops over time, fashioned by environment, experience, education, and the culture at large. As a person ages, he continues to hone this lens, shaping it into what he believes is a more precise tool for viewing the world. This happens naturally, as a result of our first parents' decision to take from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. However, as in Christ's time, problems arise when people use a carnal lens to view spiritual things. Only a very few at the time had a spiritual lens to see the Son of God for who He was. The remainder had only a carnal lens that distorted and perverted all that they perceived. David C. Grabbe Not-So-Great Expectations Related Topics: Blinded by Expectations | Christ Became Flesh and Blood | Distorted Perception of Reality | Expectations about Signs and Miracles | Expectations Blind us to Truth | Not-So- Great Expectations | Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

John 6:29 During these restless days in the church of God, we commonly wonder when the really exciting things will begin happening, what God is doing now, and where He is working. Because we define and measure our world with our physical senses, we try to catch glimpses of God at work by quantifying people and events. However, truly spiritually important things—like character, conversion, humility, a willingness to yield to God, and a vast number of other intangibles—cannot be humanly measured. We scan the world and the church for significant occurrences, yet if we do not have the proper light by which to see, we will end up groping in the dark. How can we know where God is working? Should we be looking for numeric growth as a sure sign of God's presence? If so, the first-century church must be accounted as entirely apostate, for after the entire earthly ministry of Jesus Christ Himself, there were only about a hundred and twenty names of disciples (Acts 1:15)! The epistles mention, not booming congregations, but households (Romans 16:10-11; I Corinthians 1:11; 16:15; II Timothy 1:16; 4:19; Titus 1:11). How big can a church get and still be the "little flock" of which our Savior spoke (Luke 12:32)? No, numbers are a poor measure of God's outworking, simply because He is not calling everybody at this time. Would miraculous signs and wonders be an ironclad indicator? Miracles are a double-edged sword because, on the one hand, God has performed many fantastic deeds through His prophets and other servants, but on the other, Satan and his demons can also manifest miraculous displays of power. Moreover, while miracles may be impressive, the biblical record is clear that they do very little—if anything—to instill true faith. The children of Israel who left Egypt witnessed more genuine miracles than any other nation, yet they still had a heart of unbelief. Before trying to determine where God is working, we first need to establish what God is doing: In short, He is creating men in His image (Genesis 1:26), working salvation (Psalm 74:12), and instilling belief in those whom He has called (John 6:29). These activities are all interconnected, all part of the same work. They all deal with transforming the human heart through a growing relationship with God. But the exact manifestation of that work has varied widely throughout history. Sometimes—like during the last century—God does a large and powerful external work. But, as the example of the first-century church shows, just because something humanly impressive is not occurring does not mean God is not doing anything. During Christ's ministry, He healed multitudes—perhaps hundreds or even thousands—of people. During the latter part of Acts and the epistles, the miracles—including healing—disappear. Does that mean God was not working with them anymore? Or does it mean He was working out far more than just relief from physical infirmity? Does it take more faith to heal or soldier on without healing? God often allows the physical conditions to go on for the sake of spiritual healing—for the sake of the character and discipline such trials produce. Paul's example is worth considering in this regard. From the scriptural record, he was among the most converted men to walk the earth, yet God did not use a miraculous healing to set him apart. Instead, God told him, "My grace [without physical healing; without a supernatural manifestation of power] is sufficient." God had likewise to teach Elijah that His work, in general, is not in the dramatic or the spectacular—the fire, the earthquake, the tempest—but in the "still, small voice" (I Kings 19:11-12). This revelation differs from the common conception of a "hell-raising" prophet—the kind human nature desires to observe, the one that dazzles and impresses. Jesus says an evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign (Matthew 12:39; 16:4). Thus, those who belong to God will recognize His voice (John 10:27), even if at times it seems to be still and small. The carnal man will look for the works and miracles, the evident manifestations of supernatural power, as a sign of where God is working. The dramatic and spectacular have their place, but it seems to be primarily for the benefit of the unconverted. The church should have little or no need for such displays since it is to walk by faith rather than sight. Elijah's concerns—"I alone am left a prophet of the LORD" (I Kings 18:22) and "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts . . .. I alone am left" (I Kings 19:10, 14)—seem to have been the point of contention between him and God. Elijah exaggerates his own importance—that God was working through him alone—and simultaneously limits Him by alleging that He had no other options and could use no one else. God quickly proves him wrong by telling him to anoint his successor. Mankind—even those servants He uses powerfully—cannot limit where God works. As He must inform Elijah, He had reserved—sanctified—to Himself 7,000 faithful men, about whom the prophet had no knowledge. So, where is God working? He is working in the lives of individuals He has called into a relationship with Him. One cannot measure or chart the evidence of such work on graphs. Instead, it will be seen in things like unity with God, and because of that common unifying Source, they will be united with each other (John 17:20-23). Our unity with other Christians—or lack thereof—will be a natural outgrowth of our unity with God. Additionally, His work in the lives of His children, to whom He has given His Spirit, will be evident by the fruit that it produces: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). In the same context, Paul contrasts these fruits with divisive elements like ". . . contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies" (Galatians 5:20). He then concludes by admonishing his readers to make use of God's Spirit: If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:25-26; emphasis ours) The best indicator of where God is working is where we see His mind and character being inculcated and where His children are responding by allowing that mind—heart, spirit—to transform their lives as they take off the carnal man and put on the new. This is a miracle in itself. No further proof of supernatural power is needed. David C. Grabbe Where Is God Working? Related Topics: Attaining God's Mind | Building Character | Character | Conversion | Creating Us in His Spiritual Image | Elijah's Faith | Expectations about Signs and Miracles | Faith, Walking By | Humility | Little Flock | Miracles | Renewal of Inner Man | Renewal of Mind | Renewal Process | Spiritual Healing | Still Small Voice | Transformation from Carnality to Spirituality | Willingness to Yield to God | Working Salvation in the Midst of the Earth

 

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