Whatever Happened to the Supernatural?

Do you have supernatural powers?

Webster defines supernatural as: of or relating to an order of existence beyond the visible observable universe; esp : of or relating to God or a god, demigod, spirit, or devil. (c)1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc. All rights reserved.
 
The word is derived from the Latin word, supernaturalis (super = above or beyond, and naturalis = nature)

God is a supernatural being. He dwells “above and beyond” the realm of the natural. Jesus, being “begotten of the Father,” (John 1:14) is also a supernatural being and we are joint-heirs with Him.

"And since we are his children, we will share his treasures -- for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering" (Romans 8:17 NLT).

Now, let me ask you a question. If God is supernatural and you are his heir, and Jesus is supernatural, and you "share His treasures," wouldn’t it stand to reason that you have access to His supernatural power? Jesus said:

"The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father" (John 14:7 NLT).

When was the last time you performed a greater work than Jesus? Why don't Christians operate in the supernatural realm all the time? Is it because we don’t have the power?

"Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:2-4 NLT).

According to verse 3 above, Is it because we don’t have the ability?

For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need. (Phil. 4:13)

No, there is no justifiable reason why all believers shouldn’t be operating in supernatural power every day of our lives. We have been given supernatural power to do supernatural work!

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. (1 John 4:17 NKJV)

I want to show you three things about Jesus that, if emulated by you, will give you access to the same supernatural power that He manifested while He was here on earth. To help you remember them, I've used the acronym, CIA:
    Committed
    Identified
    Available

1. Jesus was committed to His Father.His whole purpose for existing was to “do the will of Him who sent me.” (John 4:34)
2. Jesus identified with His Father.“I and the Father are One.” (John 10:30)
3. Jesus was available to His Father.He didn’t seek to do His own thing. He said, "I am not trying to do what I want, but only what he who sent me wants." (John 5:30b GNT).

To be like Jesus, we must be:

• Committed to God
• Identified with God 
• Available to God.

Let’s look at the example that Jesus set for us during His brief time on this earth. God sent Him to us so that we could observe His life and thus know how we were to live. We need to identify with Jesus in the following four areas.

First, Jesus was born of God. (Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:18, 20)Because He was born of the Father, He was inhabited by God. Because we are also born of the Father through salvation, we also are inhabited by God. As Jesus related to God, so we relate to God through Jesus, “because as He is, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17 NKJV)Jesus made it possible for you to become all that God has created you to be. What He has, you have. His life in you—"the hope of glory.”The Apostle Paul explained it further.

For it has pleased God to tell his people that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. For this is the secret: Christ lives in you, and this is your assurance that you will share in his glory. (Col. 1:27 NLT)

Second, Jesus was committed to doing God’s will. (John 4:34)When Jesus’ disciples found Him talking with the woman at the well in Samaria, they urged Him to take a break to eat. His response to them was that He had food that they knew nothing about. Their response indicated once again, that they were still acting in the “natural” rather than the supernatural, because they then asked Him who brought this food to Him. Jesus revealed to His disciples a spiritual truth that had obviously escaped them.

"My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work" (John 4:34 NLT).

Our spiritual nourishment comes from the same source—God, our Father. We are every bit as well-equipped as Jesus was to do the work of the Father. We have been given supernatural power to do supernatural work! Unfortunately, most of us rely too heavily upon human energy to do the work of the kingdom. It’s no wonder we become worn out and discouraged in the process.

Third, Jesus only did what He saw His Father doing. (John 5:19)Ever wonder how it was possible for Jesus to live a sinless life as a human being? First of all, He was 100 percent God and "God cannot be tempted by evil" (James 1:13b NKJV). Second, Jesus never did anything unless He saw His Father do it first!

Jesus replied, ‘I assure you, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.’ (John 5:19 NLT)

Imagine how different our lives could be if we followed this example. But even before Jesus did what He saw God doing, He confessed that as a human, even though He was God Incarnate, He could do nothing of Himself. We need to admit to God, to ourselves, and to those around us that neither can we do nothing apart from God.

Fourth, Jesus never said anything that He didn’t first hear His Father saying.

"But I do nothing without consulting the Father. I judge as I am told. And my judgment is absolutely just, because it is according to the will of God who sent me; it is not merely my own" (John 5:30 NLT).

Imagine what a difference would be made in our conversation if we only said what we heard God say first.

The reason Jesus was sinless was because He only did what He first saw His Father do, and He only said what He first heard His Father say. Our greatest problem is that most of our activity is the result of what we see and hear in the human realm. No wonder we get it wrong so often and become so worn out and discouraged in the process. If you want to never again say or do anything wrong, follow the example of Jesus.

How would you like to be one of God's CIA operatives? To do so, follow these three steps:

Commit yourself to God: That means you must be willing to do whatever He asks you to do even before you know what He’s going to ask. And if you’re looking for a down side, there is none! God will never ask anything of you for no good reason. And He will never ask you to do anything for which He hasn’t already prepared you and that He won't empower and motivate you to do.

Identify with Christ: Acknowledge that Jesus Christ lives in you and that you are a joint-heir with Him of all that God has. As Jesus relates to God, so you relate to God. Follow Jesus’ example in everything!

Avail yourself to God: Being available doesn’t just mean being “somewhere in the vicinity.” It means being willing and ready to act when God gives you instruction. It also means looking at problems in a completely different way than before. Being available to God means accepting problems as God’s opportunities to demonstrate His power and sufficiency through you.

Remember the story in John 6:1-14 where Jesus was teaching thousands of people by the Sea of Galilee? It became lunchtime and there was no food to be found, save the five loaves and two fishes of a young boy who was willing to share. The disciples saw the problem as being insurmountable. They looked at the situation through their human eyes and experience. Jesus, however, saw the situation as an opportunity to meet people’s needs and demonstrate an immutable law—the law of reciprocity.

"Give to others, and God will give to you. Indeed, you will receive a full measure, a generous helping, poured into your hands—all that you can hold. The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you" (Luke 6:38 GNT).

The young boy didn’t hesitate to give all that he had. We have no evidence to support that he expected anything in return. Jesus blessed the bread and the fish and asked the disciples to distribute it among the multitude. Not only was there enough to feed everyone more than sufficiently, but the disciples gathered up 12 baskets full of leftovers, which we are to assume they gave to the little boy who provided the food initially. He gave all he had, but he received far more than he gave.

If you follow the example of this young boy, the same principal will play out in your experience. “Give, and it will be given to you!” It’s a law with a guaranteed outcome.

One reason we lack God’s power in abundance is that we fail to commune with Him on a daily basis. Communion with God is how Jesus was able to see what His Father did and hear what His Father said. If we want to see and hear our Father, we need to spend time communing with him.

Jack Taylor, in his timeless book, God’s Miraculous Plan of Economy[1], explained our dilemma this way. “If we spend our time counseling with the flesh, we shall do the will of the flesh. We take on the aspects of that with which we have communion. Flesh communes with flesh, and spirit with spirit. Anyone can see God’s acts, but we must have intimate communion with Him to understand His ways.” Spending time with friends and family (flesh) might encourage you for a time, but it does nothing for your spirit. Again, Jack Taylor writes, “Our union will mean no more than our communion. Our relationship with God will have no more dynamic than does our fellowship with Him.” 

Moses, because of his communion with God, was allowed to experience God in a way that none of his followers did. Psalm 103:7 states that God made known His ways to Moses, but only His acts to the children of Israel. If you want to understand God’s ways, to know the great secret that Paul revealed in Colossians 1:27, to live supernaturally and abundantly in this world, then you must spend daily time in communion with God.

"But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted!" (John 15:7 NLT).

The world desperately needs to witness the power of God demonstrated through the church. As a Christian, you ARE the church! You can be God’s CIA agent to the world—not the clandestine, “cloak and dagger” type, but the bold, visible, supernatural variety.
[1] God’s Miraculous Plan of Economy, Broadman Press, Nashville, TN 1975