I sit here late on a Sunday night with a pit in my stomach, grieving for the church. For over a week now, I have heard about a prophecy concerning the Superbowl, the Chiefs and revival pending their win. Many were banking on this victory as it was prophesied as a sign of a great move of God on the horizon. I was not. It was troubling. As I personally watched the game, I found myself having several thoughts and an account in the gospel of Matthew came to my remembrance at the finale of the game that deepened the pit in my stomach. Despite the pushback that this post might incite, I believe it is necessary. I have no ill will or malice for anyone, but I have an urgent and humble plea to the church at large: we must get back to the Word of God, to Jesus Christ as our focus and we should stop chasing signs.

In Matthew, there are two accounts of the scribes and the Pharisees approaching Jesus with this request, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” These are found in Matthew 12:38 and 16:1, which the latter was asked by the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Mind you, this was after they had witnessed Jesus heal a man’s withered hand and do great things that testified of Him being the Messiah. Let us not forget that signs and wonders occurred to testify of Jesus Christ and the glory of God. Yet there were those who sought further signs as a test. These were the passages that came to mind tonight while remembering Jesus’ answer, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” This was testifying of Himself and His time to come in the heart of the earth, the same amount of time Jonah spent in the belly of the whale. He tells them that “something greater than Jonah and Solomon is here.” (Matthew 12:41,42) It is pretty amazing how the Old Testament testifies of Jesus Christ in even the smallest of details.

An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign. That gripped me when I recalled it because this is what I am concerned is happening in parts of the church with words such as these and manifestations that are not tested. We have closed our Bibles, sealed them shut while we hang on every word of a prophecy having nothing to do with Jesus Christ. Such things today seem man centered, and revival follows suit. It hinges on us being powerful. If the prophecy is about how powerful we will be with a bit of Jesus sprinkled in for good measure, then we are satisfied. Never mind the fact this type of example is essentially interpreting an omen, which is forbidden in Scripture. (Deuteronomy 18:10-12) We are not instructed to seek such things. God forbid things like this because it led people away from Him. Please hear this. We must be willing to test everything being said and done to make sure it is sound and biblically based, regardless of who it is.

There is a strong push to focus on signs and wonders, and if you do not have them then you are powerless. Peter witnessed the transfiguration on the mount, and yet Peter stated that even more sure than what he and others witnessed and heard was the prophetic word, the Word of God, the prophecy of Scripture. (2 Peter 1:16-21) This is our more sure Word, the written Word of God, and it is the power unto salvation for the Jew first and then the Gentile. (Romans 1:16) This is to be our foundation.

So, considering all of this, are we really banking a move of God on the outcome of a football game? Are we really going to practice numerology and the meaning of the win based upon the physical date? Call me whatever, but this is not biblical. Furthermore, there is one name I have heard reverenced more for this prophecy and it sure is not Jesus Christ. God became a side note in this and that is heartbreaking and telling. This game was said by some to be ordained by God in its outcome. I suppose we will simply overlook the perversion and sexual tone of the halftime show with pole dancing and scantily clad women while commercials containing unbiblical lifestyle choices and feminist undertones resonated throughout the night in addition to sex trafficking. As long as the prophecy is “fulfilled”, the means has nothing to do with the end here, right? As long as we get revival, that is all that matters. Church, with all due respect, when we are chasing signs like this, it is not representing Christ well and it sets us up to chase another Christ that cannot save.

What if the Chiefs had lost? Would God’s hands have been tied until the next time the Chiefs were in the Superbowl, or is God not truly sovereign? Would there have been those who would have accepted the prophecy on a technicality because of who said it and the adamant desire for revival? Listen, I want to see people come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and to spend eternity with Him. I also understand that the Bible clearly warns us that there will be a great falling away, an apostasy. (2 Thessalonians 2:3) We cannot ignore this. We cannot ignore that we are warned in the Scripture of false prophets, false signs and wonders that will deceive even the elect if possible, and that is from Jesus Christ Himself. (Matthew 24:24) We cannot turn a blind eye to warnings because they are not popular and they do not tickle our ears or our egos.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must return to the Word of God as our standard of truth and direction. This is the greatest prophetic Word we will ever read or hear. We need to be reading our Bibles more and chasing signs far less. We need to demonstrate that we are disciples of Jesus Christ by mature fruit in our lives, and we are instructed to test everything according to Scripture. I urge you to be sober and to preach Christ and Him crucified first and foremost.