Embrace the supernatural to bring praise to the one true God!

Most have their costume ready for this week. Many are probably going as something supernatural like a superhero, fairy princess, angel, Pokémon, etc. A Pokémon like Pikachu who as a yellow mouse can direct lightning bolts from its cheeks to a specific target is an example of the supernatural because the supernatural describes something outside of nature.

During Halloween, we talk a lot about pretend supernatural things, but there is real supernatural power. Trickery and deception run rampant during the Halloween season mostly for fun like wearing a Pikachu costume, but not always. Some use the supernatural to cause harm as is described in our Gospel reading from Mark 13,

5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many.”

Since the time of Jesus, many have claimed to be him. These deceivers have caused many people to put their hope in false saviors and other such lies. The return of Jesus will not be small or secret, but incredible and obvious. Plus, when he returns it will be the end of the world, so if someone claims to be him without the world ending, do not listen to that person.

Even before Jesus, there were supernatural deceptions. In our Old Testament reading from Daniel 3, the government imposed a supernatural deception on its citizens. It happened when Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, commanded all the people to bow down and worship a ninety-foot-tall gold idol. Though the idol was tall and impressive, it was not a real god nor did whatever it might have represented exist. Out of fear, all the people followed the command, except for three men named Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. When Nebuchadnezzar heard about their nonconformity, he called them to stand before him and threatened to burn them alive if they did not obey. We also hear him say in Daniel 3, “Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” At this point, the three men were forced to choose between serving the deception or the real supernatural power, between a wicked king and the one true God and between rebellion or resistance. Their confident response is recorded in Daniel 3,

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

The three men chose the real supernatural power, the one true God, to defend them, not putting their confidence in the forces of a human rebellion but resisting trusting God to deliver them.

The supernatural describes something outside of nature. As a kid I could name all 150 Pokémon, but I could not name the twelves tribes of Israel and the twelve disciples. That is only 24 names of real people compared to 150 pretend creatures. There is a danger in situations like this when we worship and trust things outside their natural abilities. As kids and adults, we put our time, money, conversations, hopes, etc. into things and when we are not careful, that becomes worship. And when we can name the policies and politicians during election season better than the doctrines and disciples from Scripture, we start to put our trust in the worldly rather than God. Consider the amount of time you have spent focused on the election. Or if you have decided to pour yourself into something else like a hobby or rewatching The Office or Seinfeld to keep your blood pressure down, consider that time investment. Whatever command you are bowing down to from the world or your own heart to deliver you to a better place will fail you. Our sinful hearts naturally conform to the patter of this world bringing praise to the worldly. By nature, we are deceived into following the wrong supernatural powers hoping in something beyond its natural abilities. Under the masks we wear each day, there is a real person who needs the one true real good supernatural power to save us.

Nebuchadnezzar saw the one true real good supernatural power save his people. After Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego resisted following Nebuchadnezzar’s wicked command, he ordered them to be bound and thrown into a blazing furnace heated seven times hotter than usual. He was confident that his display of power would keep the rest of the people in check, but then we read in Daniel 3,

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” 25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” 26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

Nebuchadnezzar was an eyewitness to the supernatural power of the Most High God. It was clear that his attempt to punish these men was like going into war with a plastic sword from a Halloween costume against an aircraft carrier. Once the three men were out of the fiery furnace, they were examined and found to have no trace of smoke or burns on themselves or their clothes. After seeing this, we read in Daniel 3,

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.”

An idolatrous, corrupt, quick-tempered king had seen the supernatural power of the one true God, and he praised him. Nebuchadnezzar may not have come to faith that day, but he was faced with the truth.

God’s supernatural power continues to deliver people. The identity of the fourth person in the fiery furnace may have been Jesus before he was born into the world or one of God’s angels like the one who shut the mouths of the lions when Daniel was put into the lion’s den in Daniel 6. Regardless, God delivered his people and six centuries later, Jesus entered our world in a miraculous way. In Luke 1, we hear the announcement of Jesus’ birth to the virgin Mary,

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

Jesus’ supernatural virgin birth as the Son of God and Son of Man allowed him to live without sin and sacrifice his innocent life on the cross for all the times we have rebelled against God’s commands. And Jesus’ supernatural resurrection guarantees that we are innocent before God as we read in Romans 4, 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. God has not abandoned us to suffer in the fires of hell, but has delivered us from sin, death and hell through Jesus. While wicked worldly powers and the spiritual forces of evil attack us, our confidence rests in the power of the Most High God.

Use your unnatural way of living is your opening to share Jesus. Your faith in God is unnatural, so the way you approach situations will be different from those around you. The difference may be subtle like dressing up as three guys in robes with a fourth guy dressed in all white carrying an “Easy-Bake Oven.” Most people probably will probably not understand who you are, which would give you an opening to talk about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace saved by a fourth person who looked like a “son of the gods.” However, your year round unnatural way of life is summarized by what Jesus told his disciples the night before he died in John 13,

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

True love for another person takes action to do what is good for someone else. We grow wise in understanding what is good from God’s Word as we read in Psalm 1,

1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.

God’s Word has supernatural power; the Holy Spirit works through Scripture to give us faith in Jesus, to trust in things beyond our understanding and to equip us for sharing Jesus with others. God works through you to accomplish what we heard in our New Testament reading from Revelation 14,

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people.

The fulfillment of this vision is carried out by pastors, missionaries, believing parents and all Christians. The Most High God has saved you and set you apart from conforming to the world to do his work in sharing the gospel unleashing the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to call people to faith from every nation, tribe, language and people.

Most have their costume ready for this week, and many of those costumes are something supernatural. During Halloween, we talk a lot about pretend supernatural things, but there is real supernatural power. God acted outside of nature to save us through Jesus’ death and resurrection and give us the gift of faith by the supernatural or miraculous power of the Holy Spirit. As Christians we embrace the supernatural by living with love, forgiveness and goodness praying this will open the door for others to hear the gospel and come to faith in Jesus. Embrace the supernatural to bring praise to the one true God. Amen.