Baird, Ken: Atlantic Lyman Ministry 24 ~ The Supernatural Life

Tonight, I'd like to talk about the supernatural life. Someone old says, am I, uh, someone might say, am I going to have to stretch to get this? The supernatural life. As a matter of fact, we're all living it. There's more, uh, to the Christian life than meets the eye. I'd like to, uh, preface my remarks with just a little reference to the fourth chapter of Second Corinthians, short reference, the supernatural life. We're all living it, we ought to recognize it. Verse fifteen of the fourth chapter of Second Corinthians. For all things are for your sakes, that the judge, the abundant grace, might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God, for which cause we faint not. But though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. Now, if you can see it, it's temporal. This is temporal. This is metal. This is temporal. If you can see it, it's temporal. It has an end. Now we're geared in this light that the things of time and sense, these things that can be seen and handled, the here and the now, these things are very, very important to us. And they're not the important things. The Lord Jesus told his disciples, lay not tre- up for yourselves treasures on the earth. Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Now, Paul has a way of putting it in the Ephesian epistle. We are living in heavenly places, in the heavenlies is the better, is the better sphere. It is a spiritual sphere. And you and I live supernatural lives, and I'm using the word advisedly. They are supernatural. They go beyond the natural. Now this is, this is scriptural. The things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. Now I want to talk about five things that will convince us that we are living a supernatural life. Now, first of all, we have a supernatural book. Our Lord Jesus Christ, on one occasion in John chapter six makes a statement there, in verse sixty three of that sixth chapter of John, it is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. These are the real things. The words that I speak unto you. Now, this not only applies to the words actually spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ, but the words that are contained in this Bible that you and I have. It's your book, and it's my book. And it is a supernatural book. I, there was a club of Christian businessmen down in Albuquerque, uh, years ago that had sweet fellowship together, and the name of the club was the Miracle Book Club. The Book of Miracles. It's amazing how God's word is just not simply a combination of words and paragraphs and chapters and so forth. It is the supernatural power of God, this word, which you and I hold. We might notice a few scriptures in connection with that. Uh, the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. I'll just quote it. Dividing asunder, uh, distinguishing between the soul and the spirit, and the joints and the, and the moral. I think I've misquoted that one. I think I'll get to it and, uh, correct your thinking about the verse. Uh, you needn't turn to it. The word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit. So far, so good. And the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Now, the thoughts and the intents of the heart don't weigh anything. They're spiritual. They don't weigh a thing. You can't weigh your thoughts. But this is the real me and the real you. Now, I hope this doesn't sound mystical, and I hope you can identify with it. We are living supernatural lives. Uh, this is a book that, that will guide us. We can, we can expect our guidance out of this book, guidance from the Lord. The Lord has said, trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not to thine own understanding, and all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Now, how does he do that? Does he come down? Does he come down and lead us like the pillar cloud through the wilderness? No. He doesn't do it that way. Does he say, this is the way, walk ye in it? No, he doesn't do it that way. He guides us through the word of God. There are impressions that we get. When we, when we read the word of God, it guides our thought. It shapes our thoughts. It frames our thinking. Now, you and I, our thoughts are framed by the word of God so that we take certain courses of action. Now, you can't explain this to an unredeemed person. The, the, the non-spiritual person does not discern the things of God. He can't. The Spirit discerns them and reveals them to us. Now, isn't that marvelous? That is supernatural. We might notice that portion in 2 Corinthians chapter, 1 Corinthians chapter two. Verse nine, but it, as it is written, I have not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the hearts of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. We, uh, prefaced our remarks this evening by making the statement, there is more to the Christian life than meets the eye. All right, here's some of it. It, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, man in general, the things which God has prepared for them that love him. He hasn't, uh, even, he he can't even discern them. But God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit, for the spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. Now, when the Spirit of God reveals something to me and something to you, that is supernatural. That is supernatural. For what known man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth or discerneth all things, yet he himself is judged or discerned of no man. They, they can't figure us out. Why? We are supernatural. Now, this is not, this is not something to be feared. This is simple Christian experience. Now, the word of God, in the hands of the Spirit of God, can shape our thoughts. I don't know how you feel about this book. I love it. But I read it, I've read it all my life. I wouldn't, couldn't attempt to tell you how many times I've read through the Bible. But I will say this, I am still seeing things I never saw before, and I said, how could you miss that? How could you miss it? Well, I'll tell you why you missed it. The Spirit of God didn't reveal it to you. And he can open it up, and you say, oh, isn't that great? Isn't that wonderful? And you enjoy it because the Spirit of God. Now, you d- you, you don't see the Spirit, but he teaches. He teaches not in m- uh, words of men's wisdom, but in the words which the Spirit teaches. And you and I can understand these things because the Spirit makes them plain to us. That's supernatural. The natural man can't do it. It's supernatural. It's beyond. The natural man doesn't get these things. I don't care how many degrees he's got after his name. He can't discern them. You try to explain them to him, he can't discern them. We can. We have a supernatural book, and it's wonderful how that it proves it- itself to us from time to time. It guides us, it comforts us. Oh, how the word of God comforts you in times when you know nobody knows that you need comfort, but God knows it. And you know the word can comfort you under those circumstances. I think of one, uh, verse, we're not far from the fourteenth chapter, fifteenth chapter of, uh, Romans, Romans chapter fifteen, Verse four. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another, according to Christ Jesus. All right. The Bible comforts us when perhaps no one knows that we need that comfort. Have you had those experience in, in your, in your Christian experience of being troubled and tried? And then you read the scriptures sometime, and you have to say, there's the answer to my problem, right there on the written page. It's a miracle book. God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The word of God is the, is the discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. You can't measure them, you can't weigh them. They're supernatural, but God anticipates the need. God warns us through the scriptures. He can see the, uh, the dangers that are coming before us, and we know that these things are written to us, to us, these admonitions are written to us, upon whom the ends of the age have come, that you and I might profit by the mistakes of those in the Old Testament. And God knows when we need those warnings. Now, he can't, I say this in all reverence, he cannot warn us, he cannot comfort us, he cannot guide us if we don't read the scriptures. We've got to read them. And then in this wonderful experience, we have that supernatural experience. Then he strengthens us. We might notice one Psalm one hundred nineteen. Psalm 119. And verse twenty eight. My soul melteth for heaviness, strengthen thou me according to thy word. I have had personal experiences where I have read the word of God, and I then I just... I felt that I had the answer, and I felt that I had, uh, all I needed to go ahead on a certain course, because the word of God strengthened me. We've got a miracle book in our hands. It was a miracle when God saved us. We'll talk about that under, uh, the me- the miraculous ministry that we have. Now, I'll tell you something else that convinces us that we have, we're living a supernatural life, and that is God's answers to our prayers. That is absolutely supernatural. I think of, uh, in that connection of a lovely verse in Isaiah chapter sixty five, a verse that I'm sure that you have seen, and I'm going to stir up your pure mind by way of remembrance. Verse twenty four, And it shall come to pass, before they call, I will answer. Many, many a missionary has had the experience of having an emergency on the field, an emergency that has to be met, perhaps with a purchase of something, uh, something that requires money. And they pray to the Lord about it. Lord, we've got to have this money right away. Perhaps there's some incoming freight. The airline, they do have airlines in Africa. The airline is bringing in a shipment. Lord, we don't have the funds to pay for that shipment when it comes. Lord, help us. And perhaps at that very time, a check will come in the mail. Now that check left its origin perhaps six weeks before. Six weeks before, before they call. I will answer. God had the answer ready six weeks before they called. Now that happens in our prayer life. We see that God answers our prayers, and uh, answers them sometimes in the negative. I think I've uh, here I'm going to say, God, the answer is prepared long before we ask, we've dealt with that. The answer is geared to our needs. The answer may be beyond our expectation, or the answer may be denied. Let's think of the fact that the answer is geared to our needs. John fourteen fourteen. John fourteen fourteen. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. Now, chapter fifteen, Uh, and also chapter, uh, now let's see, if you abide, verse seven of chapter fifteen, If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Now, some people have misunderstood this text, that if they want anything, all they have to do is ask for it, and God is honor-bound to give it to them. No, he isn't. We want to consider the if. There's an if. This sentence starts with an if. Notice it, please. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Now, if we abide in him, and if his words abide in us, we're going to ask for the right thing. We're going to ask for the things that he will be pleased to give. Now we have to discern the will of God in this. We have to be in the mind of the Lord in, in this connection. Now, just please, uh, now sometimes young Christians are tripped up in this respect. They think that all they've got to do is ask and that God is duty-bound, uh, to, uh, supply. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done on me. The person will be guided by the Lord in the very request that is to be made. Now, this is beyond nature. This is supernatural. This cannot be explained. It can only be accepted. And you and I have that, that experience. Now, the answer may be on, may be beyond our expectation in, uh, Ephesians three— and, uh, I should have some of these written out, I suppose, and just read them without laboring through my Bible. But, uh, in actions, in Ephesians, rather, uh, chapter three and verse twenty. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly. He's able above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. This shows that our wildest imaginations may not fully anticipate how God can answer our prayers. He may give us more than we ask, far more than we ask. As far as I am concerned, I don't know how you are, how you feel about this, but the most exciting, and oh my, how that word is used in this day and age. Everything has to be exciting, exciting, exciting. There are a few words that are overworked in our modern day, and this is one of them, exciting. But I'm going to use it. As far as I'm concerned, the most exciting parts of my Christian life is my prayer life. The way God answers some of my prayers thrills me to the core of my being. He's listening when I talk. It's wonderful. Now, God always answers our prayers. I say that. He always answers our prayers, but sometimes he says no. No is an answer. I would like to have you go into a little about abiding in him, if he abides in you, would that throw you off the track? No, no, it wouldn't. That means to abide in the Lord is to be in full communion and full acquaintance with his plans and purposes, and uh, and to indeed be in fellowship with the Lord. Now, when friends walk together, now in this fifteenth, in that, that's in the fifteenth chapter of John. All right, in that chapter, do you remember what the Lord calls us? He calls us friends. Friends communicate, don't they? They communicate. They know each other's thoughts and wishes. Now, to abide in Christ means to be in fellowship with him, a continuing fellowship, a communication that knows his mind to a great degree. Now, I know, I- I know we cannot say that we know the mind of God at all times, but I'll tell you, we can come awful close to it because of the will and the leading and the guidance of the Lord in our lives. Part of it is by a conviction that we can't explain. It's part of the supernatural life. It's a conviction that we can't explain, that God wants us to pray for something, and we have a right to pray for it. I think of the time when God did say no on one occasion. Uh, it's recorded in Deuteronomy chapter three, and I'm sure you're familiar with it, but I just thought I'd like to have you see it and maybe appreciate what the Lord had to say to Moses. Verse twenty four of the third chapter of Deuteronomy. O Lord God, thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness and thy mighty hand. For what God, for what God is there in heaven or in earth that can do according to thy works and according to thy might? I pray thee, let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain and Lebanon, that the Lord was wroth with me for your sakes and would not hear me. Would not answer his prayer, of course. And the Lord said unto me, let it suffice thee, speak to me no more about this matter. Get thee up into the top of Pisgah and lift up thine eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes, for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. That was final. The Lord said, no. No, Moses, you are not going over the Jordan. He asked to go over. It was a legitimate request. He led them through, led them through the wilderness to this point. The Lord said, no, Moses, you did not sanctify me with the water of Meribah. You did not sanctify me when you smote that rock the second time. And Moses said, ye rebels, must we fetch you water out of this rock? The Lord was on the picture, wasn't he? Must we fetch you waters out of this rock? The Lord said, took Moses aside, and his, and the water came, incidentally. He smote the rock, and the water came. Results don't always mean that you're in the mind of God. And he took Moses aside and he said, you didn't sanctify me in their sight. Now you're not going into the land of Canaan. And he stayed with it. When God said no, he means no. And sometimes the answer to our prayer is no, and believe me, that is an answer. God answers our prayers. Our prayer life, I think, is a, is, is, I think it's marvelous, as far as I'm concerned. It's thrilling. I'm not going to tell you some of the answers to my prayers because you'd think, well, he's a superman. No, I'm not. No, I'm not. I'd like to think, I'd like to think that I'm living a normal Christian experience. And so many, many times we, we accredit to people who do live spiritual lives as being extraordinary. No, they're not. They're ordinary. They are what the Christian should be. But God loves to confirm our faith by answering our prayers. You know, that should encourage us to a- to ask, shouldn't it? And even the Lord in his ministry to his disciples said, ask, not seek. He just encouraged them to do so. And James says, ye have not because ye ask not. And then when you do ask, you don't receive it because you want to consume it on your lust. God is too wise to give us that which would harm us. And sometimes God says no. And he said, he said no to me as well as he had to Moses. And you know, later I was awfully glad that he said no, because I had asked the miss. I didn't ask intelligently. Now, we've covered two, uh, ways in which you and I are convinced that we're living a supernatural life. Let's go on to a third, God's providential dealings. Now I'm talking about his dealings with you and me that we do not ask for, and we do not anticipate, just his supernatural providential dealings with us. He guides us and directs us, perhaps, when we don't realize that we're being guided and directed. We're not conscious that we need guidance, but he guides us nevertheless. Let's look at, um, maybe a couple scriptures. Let's try Psalm thirty seven and see what Psalm thirty seven tells us. And verse twenty three, The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth his way. The good man is even in italics, if you'll notice it. The steps of a man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. I don't object to the presence of the word good there, but it nevertheless, it's the steps of a man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. Isaiah chapter thirty, Isaiah chapter thirty, verse twenty one. And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, we've already quoted this, saying, this is the way, walk ye in it, when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left. Now I said a while ago that in the matter of, uh, seeking guidance, we don't hear this, but in the matter of his providis- of his providential dealings, we do hear it. Now, I hope I, I hope you don't think that I've contradicted myself. Let me say it again. As far as seeking his guidance are c- is concerned, I hope I'm saying this right now. We don't need to expect to answer our prayers. Well, yes, we do, but what I'm trying to say is this. He's going to do it providentially sometimes, whether we ask for it or not, and I think I'll just settle for that. He says, uh, thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, not that you ask for the message, saying, this is the way, walk ye in it, when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left. Now, isn't that providential guidance? Isn't that leading wonderful? He just simply leads us and guides us when we don't know we need it. Now, this, this is marvelous. God influences us. Now, don't rule out. Don't rule out circumstances in the matter of leading and guidance. Now, I've got to be careful, or I'm going to get off on a tangent here and not get back. Uh, don't neglect circumstances, because God is the God of circumstances. He can control the circumstances of our lives. And his providential dealings oftentimes are convict us that we must do something, this thing or that thing, because it, God has very evidently worked those circumstances out in such a way that we're convinced that's the way the Lord wants us to go. Now, for instance, in the sixteenth chapter of Acts, the Apostle Paul wanted to, uh, go up into Bithynia, was it? The Spirit said no. They wanted to go into whatever place, Asia, and the Spirit said no. Just, just the Spirit forbade them. So Paul had a dream that night, and there was a man, a Macedonian man, said, come over and help us. And he told that dream to his traveling companions, and they gathered assuredly that God wanted them to go into Macedonia. Now God guided. Now they weren't, uh, now you might call that trial and error if you want to. God was controlling the circumstances, and he controlled the circumstances by means of a dream. Paul didn't ask for the dream. That was God's idea. He gave it to him. Now, I'm not telling you that he's going to do that for you today, that he's going to guide you in a dream. I would be a little skeptical. I'd want more than that. Maybe I don't have the faith of Paul, but nevertheless, that was their conviction. They'd tried so long to do something for God, and finally this dream came along. Well, they went to Europe. That was the first time that the gospel went to Europe. You know, I'm glad that the Spirit of God led them, because if he had led them south and eastward into Asia, they might have been the developed nations, and we might have been the undeveloped. But the gospel went into Europe. Thank God for that. God was in charge. Our steps and our stops. Uh, I'm thinking I'm going to talk about God's providential, providential dealings under our steps, our stops, and our supply. Let's consider one of the stops, Genesis chapter twenty. Genesis chapter twenty. Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur and sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said unto Sarah, said of Sarah his wife, she is my sister. And Abimelech, king of Gerar, uh, sent and took Sarah. But uh, God came to Ab- uh, Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man for the woman which thou hast taken, for she is a man's wife. But Abimelech had not come near her, and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Said he not unto me, she is my sister, and she even, she herself said, he is my brother, so it was a half truth. And in the integrity of my heart and in the innocency of my hands have I done this thing. And God said unto him in a dream, yet I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart. For I also withheld thee from sinning against me. Therefore suffereth I thee not to touch her. Now this is going to cause a problem. This is a stop. This is a, this is a providential stop. Now, if Paul got a start by a dream, Abimelech got a stop by a dream. He told Abimelech, that woman that you have in your court, who we took in innocence, thinking that she was Abraham's sister, she was his half sister. Uh, God stopped the whole thing. He says, I withheld you from sinning against her. All right, here's the problem. Why doesn't God stop all of us that way? Why doesn't he stop all of us that way? Now, in this case, he did. I'm not going to tell God how to do his business. But you know, I think that God does stop us sometimes in his providential dealings. I think he does stop us. I know he has in my own e- experience. I know he's stopped me. Why doesn't he do it all the time? Why does he let us mistake, make mistakes? Well, I think the reason that he lets, lets us make mistakes is so that we might learn from the mistakes, that we might learn that we need his leading and guidance. And you know, it's surprising how that experience is such a wonderful teacher. It is a wonderful teacher. God allows us to have the experience sometimes. Now, I, I hope I haven't raised more questions, uh, than I answered when I told you that God has a stops, but I think he does with you and me. I think there are times when God puts hazards, roadblocks in our way to keep us from doing certain. I'm sure of it. I know it from my own experience. There are the steps, there are the stops. But there is the supply of God's providential dealings. Let's notice a verse in Matthew chapter six, and uh, this probably is not the best verse that I could use for this either, but I, it's the verse that, that we're going to read. He says in, uh, thirty four of chapter six of Matthew, take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Now, this has to rest upon God's providential dealings because he says take no thought for them. I'll be there with the supply when you need it. The ravens, they don't gather their crop. They have no barns, yet God feeds them. And I think that God would have us just in simple, trusting faith many, many times. When he says, take therefore no thought for the morrow, no anxious thought, of course, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Now, God stands back of that expression, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Now, this is just not that mañana philosophy, put it off, procrastination. No. It, the reason for it is, is God's providential dealings. He'll be there with the answer when the time comes. Now, if we want to pray, pray. I don't mean to, to, uh, make anybody realize that, or make anybody feel, rather, that they just should leave everything up to God and say, well, now listen, I'm not going to be concerned. No, but God will meet our needs without our asking him many, many times. The supply will be there. We don't have to ask, and aren't you glad? I'm afraid that if we, if he made us wait for all that he gives us because we didn't ask for it, I'm afraid it wouldn't matter. He supplies it providentially. He's there to meet our needs. Seek ye the kingdom first, the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Now there's a fourth reason that makes me realize that I'm living a providential life. All right, or I'd say a providential supernatural, the word I want. I am leading a providential life, thank God, but let's get away from that, uh, thought. Now, you're going to be surprised at me saying that. Satan convinces me I am living a supernatural life. I've got enemies that can't be seen. And so have you. You know, they should make Satan and his activities should, in a, to a certain degree, be encouraging to us. We ought to be feel flattered if he pays any attention to us and tries to trip us up, because that means we have potential. Uh, he never bothers the one, the, the Christian that has no potential. He never bothers him. But he does bother those that have potential. He trips them up. Satan will convince us, in a painful way, that the Christian life is more than meets the eye. Now, I know the world pooh-poos the idea that there's such a thing as a personal devil, but you'd better believe it, that he exists. And you'd better believe it that he's going to try to trip you up, but it will convince you I am indeed living a supernatural life. Uh, in Ephesians chapter six, and this is a familiar verse to you, we, we see what we're up against. We just, we just see what we're up against. Verse ten, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood. That's the natural. And he says we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. There's our enemy. You can't see him. The flesh and the blood, we wrestle not with flesh and blood. That's the natural. We're engaged in a supernatural battle. Our enemies, our principalities, powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Now, I want to give you a, a, a bit of a clue on how he works. Uh, in that respect, Second Corinthians chapter ten. Second Corinthians chapter ten. Beginning at verse four: for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They're not fleshly. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, not literal, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. All right, here's how he works. Satan has access to our minds. He suggests things to us. It was Satan that put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray our Lord Jesus Christ. Satan put it into his heart. Now, that's not the literal organ. That's not the literal organ. That was his intelligence. Satan gave him the idea. Satan put it into the heart of King David to number the children of Israel. It says so. Satan put it into his heart.