In the following audio clip, John MacArthur explains the significance of the signs and wonders of Jesus and the apostles.

There is an obvious difference between, say, a tourist attraction and a road sign directing you there. The sign merely points to what is ahead—it’s not the destination itself. In much the same way, the miraculous signs performed by Jesus and the apostles were never ends in themselves but pointed to the authority of what they proclaimed (Hebrews 2:1–4; Acts 2:22). Throughout Christ’s and the apostles’ ministries, people often fixated on their miracles and missed their messages. In Matthew 16:4 Jesus said, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign.” His point is clear: Seeking after signs means missing—or worse—ignoring what those signs point to.

The signs and wonders performed by the Lord and His apostles were not intended to be the focus—they served to validate the teaching they accompanied. Even Peter—who heard the audible voice of the Father, saw the revealed glory of Christ, and performed countless miracles himself—did not put his confidence in those experiences but in the “more sure” Word of God (2 Peter 1:17­­–19).

In absolute contrast to phony sideshow miracles, the greatest wonder on display today is the perfectly preserved, fully sufficient, and totally inerrant Word of God.

That truth is the driving force behind the Strange Fire conference. More media from the conference can be viewed here.