Theologian and author, RC Sproul says, “if you expect a miracle—if miracles are expectable—there’s nothing miraculous about them. If they’re ordinary then they carry no certifiable weight. It’s by their extraordinary character that they have sign power: sign-ificance.”
http://www.ligonier.org/blog/does-rcsproul-believe-miracles/
I believe miracles take place today. I believe the scriptures that describe miracles taking place after Jesus’ resurrection have continued. I also believe Jesus left behind His Spirit to connect with ours so through our faith we will continue His work in this realm. Faith requires trust in the unseen and I would add in the presently unknowable.
The known world in which we live is often considered the natural world. Natural refers to the laws of the physical plane in which we live. It is the laws of cause and effect, orderly succession, understandable by what we, as humans, know of the ways this world works. Supernatural implies the suspension of the laws of nature. (Principle of Jesus. P255)
Supernatural is the realm of activity of unseen agents unknowable by science because it is “above” or transcending or going beyond nature. We often call events of the supernatural, “miracles.” They are events are unable to be explained by science or predicted by the scientist, even one who has all the information possible about the context and applicable natural laws.
There was a story from a number of years ago from a woman in Arkansas. Her husband, Shane, who was a construction contractor and volunteer youth minister at Osage Baptist Church in rural Osage, Arkansas, called and said our little boy, Braedyn, had been in a wreck and was in terrible shape. I asked if Braedyn would be OK. My husband had no response, which alarmed me terribly. Waiting for my parents to drive me to the hospital, I felt so helpless. I dropped to my knees and began praying! Then, I started phoning everyone I knew and asked for prayer and they called other people. When I arrived at the hospital, my husband was crying in a way I had never seen a man cry. He didn’t want me to see Braedyn. When I did, it was terrible. His head was caved in on the right side. He had blood coming from his ears, eyes, nose and mouth. His pelvis appeared to be completely crushed. His catheter was full of blood, which means internal bleeding. The doctor told us the prognosis looked “very grave” and he might not make the flight to a big hospital in Springfield, Missouri. The thought of placing my baby on a helicopter by himself was just more than I could handle. The pilot asked if I wanted to ride, which is not usually allowed. I held onto my little boy’s arm and prayed during the whole flight that God would heal his broken little body. I told God I knew Braedyn was only on loan to me, but I wasn’t ready to not be his mommy. I fully trusted God that He would take care of my baby boy. When we landed, everything was so fast-paced. I was placed in a little room all by myself. There, I just continued to pray. After an eternity – actually only about 40 minutes – the doctor came into the room. He seemed to be in shock!! All of the x-rays and tests had been redone and my little boy didn’t have a broken bone in his body. No internal bleeding. He was bruised and banged up very badly, but the doctor said “I can’t explain what happened. I thought I was going to be telling you there was nothing we could do, but instead I get to tell you that you are very lucky.” I said, “We are not lucky, we are BLESSED! Our God saved our little boy." When we finally got to see him, his head was no longer caved in. He did have to be bed-bound for two weeks, but it was nothing we couldn’t handle. When we went for a check-up, our family doctor cried and hugged Braedyn. He said “I prayed so hard but I never thought I would see this little guy again.” God is so good! Braedyn is our little miracle boy!
http://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/galleries/12-absolutely-amazing-miracles.asp
Again, for our time together: Supernatural is the realm of activity of unseen agents unknowable by science because it is “above” or transcending or going beyond nature.
Colin Brown, a theology professor at Fuller Seminary, writes, "When I drive along the freeway and see a green sign that reads 'Pasadena: Next 11 Exits,' I am not being treated to a logical demonstration that each and all of the next 11 off ramps will lead me to Pasadena. I am being given a pointer. Only in following the directions of the sign do I discover whether the sign is telling the truth or not."
He goes on to say, "Miracles are like warning flags. They signal the presence of a different order of reality that is present in the midst of our everyday world."
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/september/a-new-age-of-miracles.html?start=2
Signs are never ends in themselves. They do not point to themselves. They are not proof of anything in themselves. They exist not to make us think we have arrived, but to lead us somewhere new.
Under this definition, Jesus himself was supernatural. He did supernatural works. His teaching was supernatural. The greatest of which was the resurrection. It’s the only action that needed to be validated because with it, all other aspects of Jesus life are confirmed.
The first supernatural moment (miracle) came through His entrance into the material by taking on human form (Luke 1:26-28, Matt 1:18-25). The second miracle came through His continual connection with God (John 10:30) demonstrated by conversation with Him as well as other spiritual beings. The most important supernatural event came through His resurrection and ascension to heaven. An event witnessed, confirmed and un-explainable by the current understanding of the world in which we live.
Jesus life, death, resurrection and assertion elevated all our lives to more than our physical experience. It expanded what the most intellectual suspected but could not prove. This all changed with Jesus. Jesus confirmed the supernatural side of the same world that operates according to the rules of physical being. The supernatural is part of the unseen because it's not present to be part of a show but place of Faith which confirms one’s belief in God.
Jesus simply assumed the supernatural. He did not set to prove it. He saw God and lived in Him. He came to open this God to us, to be for us the way to God and to show our hearts the heart of our Father God.
If you liked this short message, there is a book by the same name with more than 52 other topics and discussion questions at: www.renew-relationships.org
