God, Send Me a Sign

In this talk, Camilo Buchanan reminds young adults to seek God rather than seeking spirituality. One is empty and will lead you further from God, but the other will lead you to life, freedom, and your identity in Him.

In culture, there is a new openness to spirituality. It's the "I'm not religious, I'm spiritual" mentality. That's confusing because there is an enemy that is skewing the hunger for the supernatural. Culture has relegated the Church to the past, but the Church is anything but irrelevant.

The desire for spiritual things is good. People are awakening to the fact that there is more to life than what we can see. The problem is that people are turning to all sorts of things; horoscopes, crystals, vibrations, little bit of every religion. It's an entrepreneurial spirituality.

You're on the right track, but you have to go further. It's not something you're searching for as much as it is someone. Don't seek a sign, seek the Holy Spirit. A sign will wow you, but the Spirit will transform you. The sign is not the substance, it points to the substance.

So, what do we do?

1) Seek God.

In Acts 17, Paul is in a very religious place, Athens, Greece. He finds a Temple for "the unknown god" and stands up to preach to the people there.

Paul is able to perceive that they are very religious, so he tells them who the true God is. God is not served by human hands. He is the one who gives life, breath, and all things. This is why we don't pray to the universe. The universe is not sentient; it has no will, motivations, or love. All of the universe was created by God. We don't worship creation, we worship Him. The planets don't determine your life, God has determined when and where you exist. God tells us in verse 27 that He is not far from us. He is transcendent and imminent at the same time. He calls his children to repent because He raised His Son from the dead. That's the sign! Romans 8:11 says the same power that raised Jesus is in us. So, not only did God give us the sign, He also gave us the spirit that did the sign.

Some people rejected what Paul said, some considered it, and some full on believed.

What do you believe in? Is it crystals? The Bible says they are decoration and jewelry, but they hold no power to do anything. They can't heal you, ward off evil spirits, or send out vibrations. If you are using them to manipulate the spirit world, that is the definition of witchcraft. It's idolatry. You are trusting it to do something only God can do.

When you use tarot cards or see a psychic. What is talking to you is demonic. Acts 16 shows a woman possessed by demons yelling that Paul was a man of God. Paul had to cast them out. We can't see with the naked eye angels and demons that surround us. Ecclesiastes 8:7 tells us no one knows the future, so don't trust the demons to tell you.

The Occult is described as the hidden, secret, and mysterious things having to with the spiritual realm. ouija boards, magic, and Satanism all fall under it. It's like quick sand; easy to get into, hard to get out of. 1 Timothy 4:1 says when you go to those things for direction, it's usurping the role of the Holy Spirit in your life.

Deuteronomy 18:10-14 specifically says to stay away from witchcraft. It's an offense to towards God. It's usurping prayer in your life. Manifesting is doing the same thing.

The Book of Daniel proves that astrologer do not know anything. Only God gives wisdom, direction, and gives identity. They may perform the trick, but the proof isn't in their effectiveness. In Exodus 7-8, Moses and Aaron do something divine and the magicians would reproduce it at first, but eventually they can't. What they did wasn't fake, but it is a lie. See Ephesians 5:11. It says to expose it, don't participate in it. These things do not love you. If it doesn't love you, it will lie to you. If it will lie to you, it will keep you in bondage. The truth of Jesus will set you free.

You cannot put these two things together. In Acts 19:13-19, the seven sons of Sceva wanted to use Jesus's name, but they weren't believers. The demons called them out and beat them up. God doesn't share the same space. Once people believed in Jesus, they repented and destroyed their evil practices and materials and were transformed.

2) Seek God, and He will give signs and wonders to you.

1 Corinthians 12:1-3, 8-11. You can only call on the Holy Spirit if you have put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will give signs and wonders. He gives as He sees fit. It's His choice, but He does do it.

1 Corinthians 12:28-30. The point isn't the gift. No one gets it all, but all get a gift. Your job is to seek Him and as you do, He will gift you with what He would like you to do.

1 Corinthians 12:31-13:8,13. See the better way. Your gift is nothing if you don't have love. The gifts are for now, not for forever, but love is forever. Love is a fruit. You're not transformed by gifts, you're transformed by fruit.

3) Seek God— you'll become a sign and your life becomes a wonder.

How do you transform?

Galatians 5:16 says walk by the Spirit. Tony Evans said, "Discover what God says, do it God's way, and depend on the Holy Spirit to help you." God will override what the flesh wants.

Galatians 5:17-21. Paul explains the difference between the spirit and the flesh. He gives categories of the flesh that lead us to destruction.

Galatians 5:22 is the fruit of the Spirit an it will be born in your life when you walk with the Spirit. One of the purposes of fruit is to identify the tree. Bear love.