How Jesus Speaks Through the Supernatural

How Jesus Speaks Through the Supernatural
Series: Hearing Jesus Speak Today
September 5, 2010

Today’s message is a 2 parter. This morning, I just want to give you the introduction and maybe a little more (depending on time), and then next week we’ll finish up…so I hope you plan to be here both weeks. Otherwise, you’re only going to hear ½ a message.
I want to start out with a statement of fact…God is supernatural, and so He does things in a supernatural way. Do you believe that statement? The word “supernatural” means that it goes beyond our natural way of seeing and doing things. That it supersedes the physical laws of nature. There are a lot of people today in the world that don’t believe the things they read Jesus doing in the bible because “they’re impossible!” “There’s no way a person can walk on water, turn water into wine, heal paralyzed people with the touch of his hand. That’s impossible!” And they’re right! There’s no way a man could do those things… IF he was just a man! But what if that “man” was God in flesh? If He really was in fact… God… wouldn’t you almost expect Him to do the kinds of things Jesus did? Otherwise, you could say, “Well, Jesus can’t be God…if He was God, wouldn’t He be doing some miracles?” See, you can’t have it both ways!
Now, because God made the laws of nature, He’s not bound or restricted by them, right? He’s not a prisoner of His own creation. And so when He temporarily supercedes a law of nature… that’s called a “miracle”. Now, unfortunately, in our western, rationalistic mind-set, we’ve been conditioned to read the Bible in terms of our experience rather than in the experience of the people who were actually living it. In otherwords, if I don’t hear God’s voice today in supernatural ways… I assume that He’s not speaking in supernatural ways anymore. If I don’t personally SEE miracles being performed, then I naturally conclude that God doesn’t do miracles anymore. But nothing could be further from the truth!
The bible is filled to the brim with supernatural events and ways that God communicated with His people. Dreams, visions, impressions, angels…even His audible voice. What you may not realize is that the way God communicated with people in the bible… is the WAY He communicates with us now… if not more so! The bible says that Jesus Christ is the same… yesterday, today and forever! (find vs.) In otherwords, He doesn’t change His tactics and His methods. And just because you ‘personally” haven’t experienced it, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening! Again… if God is a supernatural God… then wouldn’t you expect Him to act and communicate in supernatural ways?
I don’t know if you’ve ever read the book of Acts before, but it’s a fascinating study of how God wants to work through His people. In it we find stories of what it was actually like to be a Christian in the early days of the church, (directly after Jesus was resurrected). It doesn’t deal in theories or doctrines…it deals in the real life experiences of people