a year of more grace: supernatural Christians

What does more grace look like for believers? Why do we need to know more?

2 Peter 3:17-18 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; ¹⁸ but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Moses was a realistic pragmatic leader. He knew what his enemy and the people were like. He had lived and learned from the rich and powerful, as well as the commoners and the poor, both Jews and Gentiles. He learned about God from his mother for the first 12 years, and trained and equipped for 28 years in Egyptian Pharaoh’s court to rule. He later worked (during all/part of his 40 years in the land of Midian) for Jethro, his father-in-law, a Kenite sheep owner and priest of Midian (northwestern Arabia). (After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, Jethro taught Moses modern management – delegation of authority.)

Despite his impressive resume, Moses knew he still lacked one thing, i.e. spiritual authority and supernatural power to override the arch-enemy, Pharaoh’s power. Moses had the fiery passion to be on God’s side. Otherwise he would not have risked his life and foregone all the riches and honor Pharaoh had given him. Yet, Moses’ first response to God’s calling was hesitation, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘the Lord has not appeared to you.'” (Exodus 4:1)

God had the answer all ready. He gave Moses three power tools. This is what we must know today for ourselves as believers. We need to live supernaturally as more than conquerers in Christ Jesus.

The rod, a dead wooden matter, turned into a living creature, a serpent. And turned back to a lifeless rod again. This is an instant switch between plant and animal species. From lifeless to life. (Exodus 4:2-4)

His hand, a normal healthy living part of his body, turned into leprous. And restored back into healthy, like his other flesh again. How fast a disease/health issue can come and go! This is an instant healing and restoration of the body parts. (Exodus 4:6-7)

Water from the river changed texture from clean drinkable water to stinking blood. Not only waters in their rivers, ponds, pools, waters in buckets and pitchers too! The fish in the river died. It’s officially called a “fish kill”. These events can have a variety of causes, but among the most common is a lack of oxygen. The main point is that in an instant, oxygen was instantly depleted from the waters, no matter where they were stored. (Exodus 7:19) (The redness was possibly caused by Chromatiaceae bacteria, which thrives in oxygen depleted waters, proliferated and covered the river, turning it red).

Fast forward to Jesus’ time. His turning water into wine miracle: It can take a full three years to get from the initial planting of a brand-new grapevine through the first harvest, and the first vintage might not be bottled for another two years after that. Jesus did not need to plant a vineyard, harvest, press the grapes, let them ferment and wait for the wine to mature. Water turned into the best wine instantly. He was able to change the composition of the water entirely and instantly. He was able to create the ingredients required for the wine.

Human beings are mostly water, ranging from about 75 percent of body mass in infants to about 50–60 percent in adult men and women, to as low as 45 percent in old age. Think of the importance of managing the water for our health. Exodus 19:22-26, and 2 Kings 2:19 recorded how bitter/poisonous waters were healed through Moses and Elisha!

Healing the sick, casting out demons, and resurrecting the dead. All done instantly by Jesus. Making the lame walk, blind see, dumb speak, and the deaf hear, was a simple job for Him. He healed all sorts of diseases, of which many involving changing of the condition of body parts. He put life back into bodies whose lives had left. He was able to give life to a mortal body.

He multiplied matters, such as loaves of bread and cooked fishes. The Gospel recorded two separate similar incidents (involving five thousands men and four thousands men separately plus women and children) just to make the point of His ability to create matter. He changed the condition of the nature we know: stilling strong wind and raging water, causing a fig tree to wither from the root and die, overriding gravity and walking on water, moving through locked doors/walls, instant movement between spaces/realms, unconstrained by time and matter. He was able to change matter, create matter, talk to the creation (life or lifeless) (after all He is the Creator and Sustainer!) and made them obey and changed accordingly.

What has this got to do with us? A lot. Everything. Jesus said this to His disciples and us.

Over the matter of healing any illness: Matthew 17:19-20

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”

²⁰ So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

Over the matter of removing all obstacles and getting prayers answered: Matthew 21:21-22 ²¹ So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. ²² And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Take note that in both instances, Jesus asked us to speak directly to the sickness/causes of it and command it to leave the afflicted body. Jesus actually gives a blank cheque. We stay in union with Him, use His name (which signifies His authority), and carry out the action, which is speaking His words. All this requires faith, believing, without unbelief.

Some believers may be concerned with who can be worthy of such supernatural power? Moses spoke the same concern, while looking at himself, an eighty years old man who failed big time and ruined his career and self-appointed mission when he was at his prime at forty. But God called him and chose him and not others, not even Aaron, who would have appeared a more logical choice then. But God chose Moses. Aaron was only a mouthpiece for Moses. God will teach Moses what to say and do. Moses will speak to Aaron and put the words in his mouth. (Exodus 4:11-17)

How was Moses described in the Bible? “Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.” (Numbers 12:3) “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.” (Acts 7:22)

Hebrews 3:5-6 ⁵ And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward,⁶ but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

Grace is a gift. Gifts must be opened and used. More grace means more usages.

“If you have faith (in God), nothing will be impossible for you.”(Matthew 17:20) “Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23) ” ²² So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. ²³ For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. ²⁴ Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. (Mark 11:22-24)

Having been born again by the Spirit of God, as sons and daughters of God, we have been given the same supernatural gifts as Jesus exercised while on earth. The Gospels tell us clearly what we have in Christ and how we may use them. Miracles are events that appear inexplicable by the laws of nature and so are held to be supernatural in origin or an act of God. All that Jesus did was beyond the law of nature. Moses was an example to foretell how a person can be used by God supernaturally. Both Moses and Elijah were seen together with Jesus by the disciples. And Elijah was described as a man just like us, with prayers that impacted the nature (rain and draught) (James 5:17-18)

As Jesus is, so are we in this world! (1 John 4:17)

2023 is a year of more grace and more actions for believers.

καί notes 2023-01-31