THE BIBLE REVEALS A SUPERNATURAL GOD

The statement in today’s title is not likely to raise many eyebrows. From cover to cover, with no hint of embarrassment, the Bible describes the ways in which God has supernaturally intervened in history. So we may say that God is Interventionist as well as Supernatural.

Do I need to prove this? Consider the Great Flood in the time of Noah. Consider Abraham’s wife becoming pregnant at 90 years of age. Consider Moses and the dramatic suspension of natural laws described in Exodus. Then Joshua, Samson, Samuel, Elijah, Daniel and Esther. Jesus, as God incarnate, healed the sick, raised the dead, and walked on water (when He wasn’t turning it into wine!) He taught His disciples how to do supernatural ministry and they went out and did it. Paul, in Romans 15:19, affirms that he had “fully preached the gospel of Christ” in signs and wonders.

OK so why go to all this trouble to demonstrate what we already know?

Because people are trying hard these days to make God fit into boxes formed by natural human reasoning. But a super-natural God, by definition, must be above all such reasoning.

So, on the one hand, we see modern scientists preaching that nothing can possibly lie outside the realm of science. They imagine that they can now dispense with God (or gods) completely. Now that they know so much about so many things, you see.

On the other hand, we see biblical scholars, working from a rationalist perspective, reading their bias back into Scripture and arguing that the Bible must now be stripped of all supernaturalism. Some Christian pulpits are now filled with empty platitudes about love and hope. God has been redefined as an insipid, powerless sympathiser with human suffering. A god who is nice and godly but lacking power (see 2 Timothy 3:5).

So the very people who like to discredit the Bible on the grounds that it portrays a supernatural God do so because they have already decided that supernatural has to fit with the natural. Hmm. Not hard to see the problem there. The problem is the assumption that nothing supernatural can exist.

The Bible, therefore, stands as a bold witness to a world that loves putting things in boxes where they can be mastered and controlled. Christians who live a supernatural lifestyle, through faith in a supernatural God, as revealed in the Bible, are literally living day by day in a realm that the rest of the world doesn’t think can possibly exist. No wonder, then, that they shake their heads and think we must be crazy.

LEADERSHIP LESSONS IN THE BIBLE

Last year, I read all the way through the Maxwell Leadership Bible, a New King James Bible with extensive notes by leadership guru, John C. Maxwell. Because it happened to be a year of especially intense review and assessment of my own leadership role, I read Maxwell’s comments with deeply personal interest.

The Bible can be profitably studied at several levels. It is a primary source for historical information and religious worldview but also for personal faith and devotion. But my reading last year dramatically highlighted what I already knew, that the Bible is also an absolutely outstanding study on leadership.

From Abraham to Moses, from Saul to David, from Isaiah to Nehemiah, and from Peter to Paul, the Bible depicts a vast spectrum of leaders in an intriguing array of leadership situations. Keys to leadership success are obvious to those with eyes to see, as are warnings about what can happen when leaders get off track. More than anything else, the Bible shows the potential of leaders who are willing to listen to God and assume a shepherding role over the people of God. In the New Testament, Jesus Himself promotes the concept of Servant Leadership (a concept which, unfortunately, has often been sorely neglected by Christians in positions of power).

Some verses in the Bible, ones that might easily be skimmed over, take on significant meaning when viewed from a leadership perspective. For instance, this morning I read about Moses and the children of Israel at Kadesh Barnea. Moses asked the king of Edom for permission to pass peacefully through his land. But the Edomites refused.

“Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel turned away from him (Numbers 20:21).”

Leadership lesson here? There are times when you have to fight but there are also times when it’s best to simply turn away and find another way to achieve your God-given objective.

It’s only a minor point compared to the many other leadership lessons in Scripture but it could easily be the difference between success and disaster. In any case, it serves as a good example of pragmatic biblical wisdom in leadership matters.

NOT WELCOME HERE!

Visitors are very welcome in almost all Christian churches these days. In fact, we typically expend a lot of thought and energy in making our services attractive for potential new members.

In light of this, and the modern desire to always be in-clusive, Numbers 3:10 seems impossibly outdated.

“Appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood. But any unauthorized person who goes too near the sanctuary must be put to death (New Living Translation).”
Do you get this? If you were an ancient Israelite out for a morning stroll and you got a bit too close to the building where your God is worshipped, you would have to die for your crime.

Other Bible versions see the crime in a different light. The Good News Bible says: “You shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; anyone else who tries to do so shall be put to death." In this case, the crime is not physically approaching the sanctuary, but falsely presuming to the role of priest.

The Amplified Bible spells this out even more clearly. “And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall observe and attend to their priest's office; but the excluded [anyone daring to assume priestly duties or privileges who is not of the house of Aaron and called of God] who comes near [the holy things] shall be put to death.”

In recent posts, I’ve tried to show that, while the Law of Moses can seem embarrassing to modern Christian sensibilities, it actually sets up a deliberate contrast for what was to come in Christ. This is another striking example. It was death to even approach the holy things of God if you were not an ordained priest or Levite. But now: “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most (Hebrews 4:16 – NLT).”

Why this dramatic difference? Simple! Jesus was the perfect sacrifice who opened up the way for us. Now we have “…boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19).”

The Believers Bible Commentary says it this way.

“The mediation of the OT priests could not bring the individual sinner into close communion with God. He had to stay away from the holy things under pain of death (v. 10b). But now the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest, gives us not only access to God but also boldness to enter into His very presence (Heb_4:16). This drastic change stems from that great event which lies between Numbers and Hebrews—the miracle of Calvary.”

So two quick conclusions. Firstly, churches who have an attitude of “Sinners not Welcome Here” are living under a superceded exclusion mentality. They are way out of line. But secondly, those of us who understand what Christ has achieved on our behalf can appreciate the amazing privilege that we have. Not only are we invited to approach, even right into the Holiest place of our Father God, we are elevated to the role of priests before Him. This means that we approach God, not on the basis of good works but on the basis that Jesus’ one Good Work has made us qualified.

Hallelujah! How can we not praise Him?