Would you turn with me to Luke
chapter 11? While you're turning there this evening, I'm going
to be speaking upon this subject, the fruits of law and the fruits
of grace. And it's in Romans chapter seven,
those first six verses where Paul tells us what it means to
be married to the law and what it means to be married to Christ. Luke chapter 11. beginning in
verse 29. And when the people were gathered
thick together, he began to say, this is an evil generation. They seek a sign. And there shall no sign be given
it, but the sign of Jonas, prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto
the Ninevites, so shall also the son of man be to this generation. I've entitled this message only
one sign given. What if while I was preaching,
I could perform miracles before you to prove that the Lord indeed
had sent me. I can't help but think that would
be nice. If I could just create something or cause something
to come into existence, or if I could raise the dead, or if
I could heal the sick, if I could do those things to demonstrate
that The Lord's hand is on me. This man's doing something. We
see the divinity of his mission because of the things he could
do. Now, I've got to admit that I would like that, but evidently
it's not necessary because I can't. Now, the Lord said in this passage
of scripture, after some people had said, we want to sign. We
read that from Matthew 12's account. We want to sign. We want some
evidence. that God has sent you. We want
you to do something before us to prove to us the divinity of
your mission, that this is really God's work. And they've just
seen a miracle. They just saw him cast out a
demon. What they were saying when they
said we want to see a sign is, we don't believe you. you're
going to have to give us proof. Well, he'd already given proof.
But did you know no one ever believes because of a sign? If I could perform miracles,
that wouldn't make anybody believe. You'd be impressed. You might
even think, well, there's something to this. But it wouldn't really
make you believe the gospel. The Lord says that the desire
for a sign is evil. I need more evidence. And the
Lord calls this an evil and an adulterous generation that seek
this sign. Now that's very strong language,
isn't it? Now, why does the Lord say it's an evil and adulterous
generation to seek a sign when God has always given signs? Remember
when he sent Moses to go before Pharaoh and Moses said, he won't
believe I came from you. And he gave him the ability,
these signs, he could take his staff and throw it on the ground
and it would turn into a snake. And then he could take his hand
and put it in his bosom and pull it back out and it would be leprous.
And he put it in again and pull it back out and it would be totally
clean. Well, these are signs. God's always given signs to prove
who he is. What about the 10 plagues? They
were called 10 signs and they certainly demonstrated different
aspects of the gospel. When our Lord walked upon this
earth during his earthly ministry, he gave many signs. many sides. Miracles where physical, the
laws of physics were suspended. He walked on water and people
saw it. It's impossible. That's against
the laws of physics. Yet he did it. He demonstrated
creative power. He brought matter into existence
that was not there before. Only God could do that. And people
witnessed this. He raised the dead. He made water
wine. He didn't make it to where it
looked like wine or tasted like wine, smelled like wine. He actually
made it wine. That water became wine. He controlled the weather. I
love it when the disciples said, what manner of man is this that
even the winds and the seas obey him? He gave many signs that
testified of his divinity. He did what only God can do. And men witnessed this. Now you
can say, well, that's just stuff that was made up. You can say
that if you want, but it was witnessed. He gave signs concerning
who he was. And what about the apostles?
They were The Lord confirmed what they did with signs and
wonders. They went out and they healed the sick. They spake in
other languages. They raised the dead. God blessed
what they did with these signs. And who here wouldn't like to
see a sign? I'd like to see one. I believe
everybody in here would like to see a sign if the Lord was
doing that at this time. But did you know that no one
ever believes because they see a sign. It's never happened. Turn with me for a moment to
John chapter 6. Verse 29, Jesus answered and said unto
them, this is the work of God. that you believe on him whom
he hath sent." They said therefore unto him, what sign showest thou
then that we may see and believe? What does thou work? We need
to see a sign. Now, it's interesting. These
same people just saw him bring matter into existence that was
not there. He fed five thousand with five
loaves and two small fishes. And they saw that. They ate the
food. They saw it happen. They knew
exactly what happened. And yet when he makes this glorious
statement regarding the gospel, this is the work of God, that
you believe on him whom he has sent. Well, we need a sign to
make us believe that. They couldn't believe that message.
They needed a sign. Although they had already seen
one, but that lets us know that no man ever believes simply because
of a sign. Do you remember when the Lord
gives the story of the rich man in hell, and he said, Father
Abraham, ask Lazarus to go back and warn my brothers that they
won't come to this awful place. And Abraham replied, they got
the law and the prophets, let them hear them. All they got
to do is hear the scriptures. They said, nay, Father Abraham, but
if somebody rose from the dead and came back from this awful
place and warned them about it, they'd repent. They'd respond.
Then Abraham said, if they Repent not at the preaching of the law
and the prophets of Moses of the scriptures. They won't repent
though one rose from the dead. No one ever believes because
of the sign. And as a matter of fact, although
our Lord gave many signs testifying to who he was, anytime someone
asked for one, he refused. Because when they asked for one,
they were saying, we don't believe you. We can't trust you. You're
going to have to give us something that proves who you are. You see, in reality, the truth
does not need a sign. The truth recommends itself.
When you hear the truth concerning who God is. Yeah, that's the truth. That's the only way it can be.
That's the way you hear. When you hear that the Lord reigneth,
God is sovereign, deep down you know that's the only thing that
makes sense. If He's God, of course He reigns. If there's
anything He isn't in control of, He's not much of a God. I'd be scared to death, but the
truth recommends itself as the truth. God is, God reigns, God
rules, God is in control. Give me a sign to prove that.
Well, if I say that, what I mean by that is that I don't want
it to be so. I feel like that takes away all
my control. It takes away all my, it takes
away the things I'm hoping in and I hope it's not so. That's
what we say when we say we want a sign. Now, the Lord gave many
signs, but he never gave signs to people when people requested
them. Because all they were saying
by that was, we don't believe you. Give us further proof. And as I said, the truth recommends
itself. He spake as one having authority. What he said recommended itself
as the very word of God. He spake as one having authority
and not as the scribes. Now, our Lord says in request,
show us a sign, give us some proof. He says there's only one
sign that's gonna be given. And that's the sign of Jonas,
the prophet. Now, most people are familiar
with the story of Jonah. If you'll turn over there to
the book of Jonah in the Old Testament, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah. Right after Jonah is the book
of Micah. Now, I would say just about everybody
here is familiar with the story of Jonah, how Jonah got swallowed
by a great fish and spent three days in the belly of that fish. Now, a lot of folks are incredulous
about that. How could that be? How could you exist in the stomach
of a fish with all the juices of digestion, getting on you,
and how could anybody live through that? Well, I don't know. I really
don't know, but God can do anything. Is anything too hard for the
Lord? Can the Lord preserve somebody in a fish's belly for three days
if he's pleased to do it? Of course he can. Of course he
can. He's God. Is anything too hard for the
Lord? No. With God, nothing should be impossible. We believe the
miraculous. We believe the Red Sea really
was parted. We believe all the miracles of
the scripture because we believe God. God is, God's all powerful. And yes, I do verily believe
that Jonah was preserved for three days and three nights in
that fish's belly. And then that fish, after three
days, spit him out onto dry land after he had prayed that prayer. Now, let me remind you of the
story. God commands Jonah to go preach
in the city of Nineveh. And from what I've read, Nineveh
was the largest city in the world. It was the capital of Assyria. It's in what is now northern
Iraq. And we know it had hundreds of
thousands of people. And God told Jonah to go repent. He said, the wickedness of that
city has come up before me. And Jonah didn't want to go.
And he fled from the presence of the Lord, the scripture says.
And he got into a ship, paid the fare to get away. Now let's look in Jonah in chapter
one. Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah. Remember, the
Lord said this is the only sign that's gonna be given to this
generation. That gives us the significance of what we're looking
at. Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah, the son of Amittai,
saying, arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against
it. for their wickedness has come up before me. But Jonah
rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord
and went down to Joppa and he found a ship going to Tarshish
so he paid the fare thereof and went down into it to go with
him unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He didn't want to
do that. But the Lord sent out a great
wind into the sea And there was a mighty tempest in the sea,
so that the ship was like to be broken. Then the mariners
were afraid, and cried every man unto his God, and cast forth
the wares that were in the ship into the sea to light it of him.
But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship, and he
was lay and was fast asleep. So the shipmaster came to him
and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call
upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish
not. And they said, every one to his fellow, come and let us
cast lots that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon
us. So they cast lots and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they unto him, tell
us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us. What is
thy occupation? Whence camest thou? What is thy
country? And of what people art thou? And he said unto them,
I'm a Hebrew. And I fear the Lord, the God
of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. And the
men were exceedingly afraid and said unto him, why hast thou
done this? For the men knew thee fled from the presence of the
Lord, because he told them. They said unto him, what shall
we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? For the
sea wrought and was tempestuous. And he said unto them, take me
up and cast me forth into the sea. So shall the sea be calm
unto you, for I know that for my sake this great tempest is
upon you. Nevertheless, the men rode hard
to bring him to the land, but they could not, for the sea wrought
and was tempestuous against them. Wherefore, they cried unto the
Lord and said, we beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let
us not perish for this man's life and lay not upon us innocent
blood, for thou, O Lord, has done as it please thee. So they
took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea, and the sea ceased
from her raging. Then the men feared the Lord
exceedingly and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord and made vows.
Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and
Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Now, Jonah was thrown overboard. because of his sin. Isn't that
so? And Jonah voluntarily was thrown
overboard. They didn't take him and throw
him overboard against his will. He was the one who volunteered
to do this. And he said, there will be no
calm until you throw me overboard. And he was thrown into the sea
and a fish swallowed him. And he was in that fish's belly
for three days and three nights. Our Lord Jesus Christ died. And there was only one reason
he died. Sin. The sins of God's elect
became his sin, so that he became guilty of it. He voluntarily
died. He said, I lay down my life of
myself. No man takes it from me. I have
power to lay it down. I have power to take it up. This
commandment have I received of my father. Remember when Jonah was thrown
overboard into the sea, there was a great calm. When the Lord
Jesus Christ died, there was a great calm, because God was
actually satisfied with what He did. Jonah was in the well's
belly for three days and three nights. The Lord was in the heart
of the earth for three days and three nights. After three days,
the well spit Jonah out. After three days, the Lord came
out of the tomb. Now let's go on reading in Jonah
chapter two. And I really believe while Jonah is praying this prayer
while he's in the Lord's, in the fish's belly. Now can you
imagine? Can you imagine being in a fish's belly for three days? What a horror. I don't know if
I could think of anything much worse than that. I mean, I don't
guess he thinks he's going to live. But when we read of this
prayer of Jonah, these are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And you'll see that. Verse 1, chapter 2. Then Jonah
prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly, and
said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and
he heard me. Out of the belly of hell cried
I, and thou heardest my voice, for thou hast cast me into the
deep. into the midst of the seas, and the floods compass me about,
all thy billows and thy waves pass over me." He's talking about
the wrath of God. Then I said, I'm cast out of
thy sight. And truly the Lord was forsaken
by his father on the cross when he cried out, my God, my God,
why is thou forsaken me? It's because God forsook him.
He was cast out of the very sight of God. Yet, I'll look again
toward thy holy temple." You know, the Lord never quit believing. Even when he was cast out of
God's sight, he said, though he slay me, yet will I trust
him. Verse 5, The waters compassed
me about, even to the soul. The depth closed me round about.
The weeds are wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottom
of the mountains. The earth with her bars was about
me forever. Yet thou hast brought up my life
again from corruption, O Lord my God. When my soul fainted
within me, I remembered the Lord. And my prayer came unto thee
in thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities
forsake their own mercy." If you pay attention to salvation
by works, you kill yourself, is what he's saying. But I will
sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving. I will
pay that which I vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. And
the Lord spake unto the fish and vomited Jonah out of dry
land. Somebody once said even a fish
is going to spit somebody out who believes salvation's of the
Lord. I believe that's so. The fish did what the Lord told
it to do, and the Lord said, that's the sign of Jonah. It's the only sign you're going
to get. I'm going to be in the heart of the earth for three
days and three nights, and I'm coming out. That is the only
sign you will get. That's the one sign I'm going
to give. Now, I'm not preaching a historical
Christ. I'm preaching Him who lives. Why seek ye Him that liveth among
the dead? He's not here. He's risen. Now, would you turn with me to
1 Corinthians 15? This is all about the sign of Jonas. 1 Corinthians
15. Now, this is such an important
chapter. Paul begins this chapter with, Moreover, brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel. So here we have Paul telling
us, this is what the gospel is. And until verse 24, there's a
conjunction with each sentence, letting us know that the thought
is not over until verse 25, rather not verse 24, but verse 25. But
let's, let's read some of these verses together. First Corinthians
15, Paul says, moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel.
which I preached unto you, it's always been the same gospel,
which also you've received, and wherein you stand, by which also
you're saved, if you keep in memory what I preached unto you,
unless you've believed in vain. For I delivered unto you, first
of all, that which I also received, this is the gospel that Christ
gave me, that I'm giving to you. It's how that Christ died for
our sins, according to the scriptures. Now understand this, the gospel
is not that Christ died for our sins. The gospel is how that? Christ died for our sins according
to the scriptures, according to all the Old Testament types,
all the Old Testament stories. He was talking about the Old
Testament scriptures. I could give so many examples, but the
first thing that comes to my mind is the Passover. God says,
when I see the blood, I will pass over you. He didn't say,
when I see your faith. He didn't say, when you see the
blood. He said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Is that gospel to you? That's
the gospel. Moreover, brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel. For I delivered unto you first
of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures." Verse 4, And he was buried, and
that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
Just like he said he would. And he was seen. He was seen
of Cephas, Peter, that first appearance to Peter, then of
the 12. And after that, he was seen of above 500 brethren at
once, of whom the greater part remain into this present, but
some are falling asleep. Now, he was actually seen, resurrected
from the dead by 500 people at once, 500 credible witnesses. Verse seven, after that, he was
seen of James, then of all the apostles. And last of all, he
was seen of me also as one born out of due time. For I'm the
least of the apostles that are not me to be called an apostle
because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God,
I am what I am. Isn't that your testimony? This sounds almost contradictory,
but it's true. I'm a sinner, and that's by the
grace of God that I know that. It's only by the grace of God
that I know that. I'm a saved sinner, and that's
by the grace of God. Everything, this is every believer's
personal testimony. By the grace of God, I am what
I am. All men by nature, I'm no better
than any of them. I'm not saved because of something
in me. By the grace of God, I am what I am." Is that your testimony?
Is that your personal witness? By the grace of God, I am what
I am. He says in verse... Ten, but
by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace which was
bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly
than they all. Yet not I, I'm not giving myself the credit,
but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it
were I or they, so we preach and so you believe now. If Christ
be preached and he rose from the dead, how say some among
you that there's no resurrection of the dead? There was an error
being circulated in the Corinthian church that there was no resurrection. People were actually saying that,
and he's addressing that. He says in verse 13, but if there'd
be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen? And
if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain? If I'm
not preaching him who lives, I'm wasting my time. My preaching
is utterly without power. It's without meaning. It's utterly
vain because we preach Him who's raised from the dead. Here's
my help. Who is He that can condemn? It's
Christ that died, yea rather that's risen again, who's even
at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
us. That's our hope. Now, if He wasn't
raised from the dead, I mean literally raised from the dead,
Our preaching is a complete waste of time. It's utterly vain. And
he says also, your faith is vain. It won't save you. Whatever it
is you believe, it won't do you any good. Because if he wasn't
raised from the dead, then you're in trouble. Verse 15, Yea, and
were found false witnesses of God. Because we testified of
God that he raised up Christ, whom he raised not up, if so
be the dead rise not. If he didn't rise from the dead,
we're false witnesses of God. Because we're saying something
that isn't so. We're saying he has been raised from the dead.
16, for if the dead rise not, then
is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised,
your faith is vain, and you're yet in your sins. Your sins have not been put away.
They're still on you. You'll be judged for them. Then
they also which are fall asleep in Christ have perished. Those
people who claim to be believers, when they die, they're in hell
now. They're not in heaven. If Christ be not raised from
the dead, you see the resurrection of Christ, who he is and what
he did is everything in their salvation. Verse 19. If in this
life only we have hope in Christ, we're of all men, most miserable. Why go through all this? If if
he's not right, if this is the only hope we have is right here,
no resurrection of the dead. Why are we going through all
this? We're of all men, most miserable. Now, if Christ is
raised from the dead, which is the opposite of all those are
true. First, our preaching is not vain. It's the very word of God that
God blesses and causes people to hear and believe and bow and
receive. It's not vain. Our faith is not
vain. It's real. I'm trusting Him who
lives. He did die and He was raised
from the dead. You know, the very nature of
faith is if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus
and believe in thine heart that God raised Him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved. Do you believe that God raised
Him from the dead? Do you believe that the reason
He raised Him from the dead is because of what he accomplished
by that resurrection. He satisfied God. He paid for
sins. And God raised Him from the dead.
The very justice of God demanded it. And the very nature of saving
faith is to really believe God raised Him from the dead because
He's satisfied with what He did. God sent Him here on a purpose.
To save His people from their sins. And that's what He did.
When God raised Him from the dead, it's because He had in
fact saved His people from their sins. Oh, our faith is not in
vain. Not in any way. We're not false
witnesses. We're true witnesses. You know, when I preach, when
anybody preaches, they're giving testimony to what they've seen,
to what they know to be so. I'm testifying God raised him
from the dead. I know he did. I've seen him
in his word and I'm speaking as a witness, not just handing
out secondhand information. I'm speaking as I know the gospel
I know is gospel and I'm preaching it. And we're not in our sins. This is true of every believer.
Now listen to me. This is glorious. That sin you
committed yesterday. It's non existent. If you're
a believer, He put away your sins, and you're not in your
sins. You've got a brand new history,
perfect justification before God. You're not in your sins. You're in His righteousness.
And you know those folks that fall asleep in Christ? They're
not in hell. They're in the very presence
of Christ, perfectly conformed to His image. And if Christ is
risen from the dead, we're of all men most happy. You see,
everything is good because all things, whatever they are, all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. Now Paul said,
turn with me for a moment to Philippians chapter three. Paul says in verse 7, but what
things were gained to me, those I counted lost for Christ, yea,
doubtless. And I count all things but lost for the excellency of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. For whom I've suffered
the loss of all things and do count them, but dumb that I may
win Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness, which is of God by faith, that I might
know him. And look at this next line. I want to know the power of his
resurrection. I want to know Him, and I want
to know the power of His resurrection. First of all, I want to know
the justifying power. Scripture says in Romans 4.25,
He was delivered for our offenses, and He was raised again for our
justification. When He was raised, everybody
He died for was justified. That means, I love this definition
of justification. I mean, justification means without
guilt. I know all that, but I like, I like this definition. Justification
means I got a new history. And it's all good. It's all righteous. It's all holy. That's my history. All the stuff that took place
yesterday. What are you talking about? It didn't happen. It didn't
happen. I stand before God without guilt. He was delivered for our offenses
and was raised again for our justification. I want to know
the life giving power, not only the justifying power, the life
giving power. Do you know the same power that was exerted in
raising our Lord from the dead is used in beginning life in
those he saves. If you're born again, if you're
born from above, the same power that was used in raising Christ
from the dead by God is given to create life in you. You now believe the gospel. That's
the life of God in your soul. You now love the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the life of God in your
soul. I want to know the faith-giving
power. I love where Peter says, who
by him do believe in God, which raised him from the dead. By him, you believe in God. Don't
you know that the faith you have is by him? If you have faith,
you know that's so. It's by him. I want to know the
preaching power. I love what Martin Luther said.
Martin Luther said, I preach as though Christ died yesterday.
rose from the dead today and is coming again tomorrow. I want to know the preaching
power of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I
want to know the comforting power of the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Are you troubled by your sin? He was raised from the dead. Do you fear death? He was raised from the dead. Do you fear judgment? He was raised from the dead.
And he's seated right now at the right hand of the father
making intercession for his people. I want to know the glorifying
power Paul said, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed. Now there's no sign needed, but
the sign of Jonas. What if I could perform miracles
while I'm preaching to you? What if I had a staff and threw
it down there on the floor and it turned into a snake and everybody
would be scared to death? Would that make anybody believe?
No. No. The only sign given is the
sign of Jonas. Now, you may not be looking for
a supernatural, miraculous sign. You might not be looking for
supernatural phenomena, but it may be more subtle, this thing
of seeking a sign. I want a sign. I want something
to verify this to me. Let me ask you a question. Do
you give a scent to scriptural truth, but deep down, you really
don't have assurance that you're saved? You've got to look back
and grasp at something that took place in the past. I must be
saved because that took place, because I felt this and I heard
that. Or you look to something you're going to do in the future.
I'll turn things around one of these days, but you never really
have any assurance from that. Because like I've said before,
the two biggest false refuges there are, are the past and the
future. Do you keep waiting for something
to happen? Some feeling waiting for the
lightning to strike? I could believe I was saved if
I did this or if I did not do that. I could believe I was saved
if I had a deeper experience. If I felt more need and I felt
more fear and I felt more repentance. Or I could believe I was saved
if I had more victory in my life. I could believe I was saved if
I had more power over sin. I could believe I was saved if
I had more fruit and I manifested more fruit and more joy and I
lived differently. If I had more sorrow over my
sin, I could believe I was saved if, if what? If Christ was raised from the
dead? No, I believe that. I could believe I was saved if
All those things are believing in yourself. Everything I mentioned,
that's believing in yourself. That's all it is. That's looking
for a sign, a sign in you. And our Lord says the only sign
that's going to be given is the sign of Jonas. The Lord died and three days
later, he walked out of that tomb living. And he who lives sits now at
the right hand of the Father, representing all of his people. Now, is this enough to give you
assurance? Who is he that condemneth? Bring it on. Here's the answer. It's Christ that dies. I need
no other argument. I need no other plea. It is enough
that Jesus died and that he died for me. It's Christ that died, yea, rather,
that's risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. No other sign given. Do you want another one? I don't. I want to stay right here. Can you rest in this? He was
delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. May God give me and you the grace
to believe the sign of Jonah. Let's pray together.