MIRACLES

 

 

1.    There are a lot of differences between members of the church and people in the world.

2.    One giant variation is how we and others view the Bible.

3.    In both testaments there are stories (accounts) that can only be described as miracles.

4.    In fact, we do not need to go very far before we encounter a steady stream of supernatural acts.

5.    Enoch was “translated”; Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt; a bush was burned but consumed.

6.    A donkey spoke; plagues were sent upon Egypt; the Red Sea divided and the sea bottom was dry.

7.    God repeatedly supplied a meal of manna and quail to His people; water came from a rock.

8.    The sun was made to stand still; an ax head floated upon the water.

9.    A man received food from a raven; the jaws of hungry lions were closed; the dead were made alive.

10.  In the New Testament we also have miracle upon miracle.

11.  The sick we cured; those possessed by demons were freed, and people received supernatural gifts.

 

WE MAY HAVE FAITH IN THE MIRACLES OF THE BIBLE, BUT MANY OF THE PEOPLE IN OUR WORLD DO NOT.

 

a)      At the present time it is not uncommon for us to hear about “Bible scholars.”

b)      Many so-called scholars, however, have no faith in the miracles of the Bible.

c)      Many well known authors say Bible miracles are either made up or can be explained naturally.

 

d)      ABC News has a web site which contains a “science and technology” section.

e)      On February 12^th of this year (2004) they published some information.

f)        If you are familiar with TechTv, this material is also on their site.

g)      This story tells of Russian researchers who have “taken a stab” at a Bible miracle.

h)      That is, they want to explain one of the miracles in the Bible—an Old Testament miracle.

i)        If you want to turn your Bible to the miracle they try to explain, the reference is Ex. 14.

 

2)      A senior Russian researcher who is an oceanographer and a German colleague have a theory.

3)      These two men believe that when Israel came to the Red Sea, this body of water had a reef.

4)      When Israel was crossing the sea, this reef was very close to the surface of the water.

5)      If the wind blew at 67 MPH throughout the night, the waters could have been parted.

6)      This researchers conclude that Israel did cross as the Bible says, but it was NOT a supernatural act.

7)      It was simply a matter of their being in the right place at the right time.

8)      I am going to say a little more about this explanation, but I first want to read from this OT story.

9)      Our reading begins with Ex. 14:21 and goes through Ex. 14:22.

10)  READ.

11)  Verse 21 tells us that there was a wind involved in parting the water.

12)  When describing this historical event, however, there is a very precise detail.

13)  The water was not simply divided; it was divided in such a way that it was like a “wall.”

14)  On both sides of Israel there was a wall of water.

15)  With this in mind let’s introduce verse 28 of Ex. 14 – READ.

16)  Water was walled so high that when it returned to the sea, those in the sea bed drowned.

17)  We have before us the Biblical claims concerning this event.

a)      Moses parted the sea, people walked over on dry land; the Egyptians were covered.

b)      How does this square with the idea that Moses took advantage of a 67 mph wind?

c)      I now want to give you the rest of the naturalistic explanation given by the scientists.

 

18)  The two men proposing a natural explanation say the water returned and “blocked” the Egyptians.

19)  We cannot reconcile the words “blocked” and “all drowned.”

20)  When this miracle was performed it was done in such a way where we must do one of two things:

a)      We accept it by faith and say it was a supernatural act of God.

b)      A second choice is reject it and say it didn’t happen as it is described.

c)      Human explanations have been sought and advanced for this miracle but they all fail.

 

21)  This is certainly not the only manner which people have tried to explain away.

 

FOR SOME TIME I HAVE SEEN ABC NEWS DISCUSS THE TOPIC OF RELIGION, AND IT HAS BEEN INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THEY HAVE APPROACHED GOD, CHRISTIANITY, AND EVENTS IN THE BIBLE.

 

a)      An examination of their research reveals that they have looked at another Bible miracle.

b)      This one is also well known:  Moses and the burning bush.

 

2)      This supernatural act is referred to on ABC’s site as the “charcoal bush.”

3)      ABC has drawn this portion of their story from a Cambridge University physicist in England.

a)      This man has written a book entitled “The Miracles of Exodus.”

b)      The good doctor explains the burning bush miracle in light of Israel’s acacia bush.

c)      In Israel this is a common bush that is used to make fine charcoal.

d)      The English physicist bases his explanation of the miracle on a personal experience.

 

4)      One day this researcher was walking around in Israel and he stepped on a volcanic vent.

5)      I have never seen one of these events, but I have no reason to disbelieve his description.

6)      From these vents come very hot gasses, and he nearly incinerated his shoe and burned his toe.

7)      This experience left him with a way to explain the miracle in Ex. 3 (which I will be reading).

a)      He believes there was a vent below an acacia bush and the bush appeared to continuously burn.

b)      As Moses got near the bush our physicist suggests the bush began to burn.

c)      According to this researcher, the “miracle” was another example of good timing.

d)      Moses just happened to get to the bush at the time it started to smoke.

 

8)      Let’s look at the Biblical account.

9)      We will start with Ex. 3:2 – READ.

a)      God was very clear about this event.

b)      According to the start of this verse, Moses saw something.

c)      The “angel of Jehovah appeared unto him in a flame of fire.”

d)      This was in the “middle” of the bush.

e)      If we believe the text, this bush was “burned with fire” but “not consumed.”

f)        This was no volcanic vent underneath the bush.

g)      According to the text, the bush was ablaze.

 

10)  Beyond this we have the information in verses 4-5 – READ.

11)  Our physicist says the bush started to burn when Moses got close to it.

12)  We find a different story from the text:  the bush was burning and that is what got Moses’ attention.

13)  In this miracle we have more than burning bush.

14)  We have a bush that has a voice coming out of it.

15)  Not only is there a voice, Moses hears his name said two times (verse 4).

16)  Moses answered this bush when he heard his name.

17)  We also have the information in verse 6 – READ.

a)      Moses believed he was in the presence of God; this was no natural occurrence.

b)      I also want to read the next 8 verses in the next chapter because these verses continues the story.

c)      READ Ex. 4:1-8.

 

18)  We cannot explain the burning bush miracle as a volcanic vent next to a charcoal bush.

19)  There are too many differences, but for some, the differences do not matter.

a)      If a skeptic says it couldn’t have happened, many accept that.

b)      If a person with an advanced degree offers a natural explanation, this is the final word for many.

 

20)  When we look at the theories that people put forward, they are not just bad theories; they are awful.

21)  I have demonstrated this with two miracles; let’s move on to a third.

a)      Moses was commissioned by God and he eventually freed the Hebrew people from bondage.

b)      Israel made it into the desert and they needed something to eat.

c)      Old Testament writers tell us God supplied His people with manna and quail.

 

22)  There are several theories about the food we know as manna.

23)  One of the most widely held ideas is that manna was a secretion from a tree.

a)      In Israel there is a tree known as the tamarisk tree (TAM-uh-rix).

b)      Insects puncture the bark of this tree and these piercings allow sap to ooze out.

c)      As the sap drips out it crystallizes on the tree’s twigs or forms drops on the ground.

d)      In the cool of the morning these drippings can be gathered and eaten.

 

e)      There are similarities between the tamarisk (TAM-uh-rix) sap and manna.

 

24)  Both are associated with the morning (Num. 11:9 says this was when the manna was available).

25)  Both were small and flake like (descriptions of the manna are in Ex. 16:14, 31;).

26)  Manna had a sweet taste (Ex. 16:31) just like the sap.

27)  The sap melts in the sun just as the manna did (Ex. 16:21).

a)      While there are similarities, they are also differences—big differences.

b)      According to verses like Ex. 16:23/# 11:8, the manna could be ground, milled, baked, or boiled.

c)      The sap cannot be processed in these additional ways.

 

28)  Beyond these points there are other additional irreconcilable differences.

29)  Tamarisk (TAM-uh-rix) sap occurs for only a few days in the summer.

30)  Israel needed the manna throughout the year and they needed this for 40 years.

a)      If all this is not enough to dismiss the natural explanation, we can pile on one more fact.

b)      How many Hebrews left the nation of Egypt during the Exodus?

c)      Ex. 12:37 says there were 600,000 “men.”

d)      How many women and children were in the group?

e)      When we count everyone, easily a million people departed from Egyptian bondage.

 

31)  Here is a brief but thought provoking question:

32)  How many sap trees would be needed to feed a million plus people each day for 40 years?

33)  The most popular naturalistic theory for the Israelite’s manna does not add up.

 

34)  From the beginning of the Bible to the end of the Bible, we read about miracles.

35)  When we talk about faith in God and in the Bible, we also mean faith in Bible miracles.

a)      This faith is not a blind belief based upon emotion or a lack of evidence.  

b)      It is a rational, well reasoned faith based upon evidence and history.

 

36)  God repeatedly offered miracles to prove who He was, what He was, and His faithfulness.

37)  We now have all that proof recorded in the book known as the Bible.

38)  Miracles serve as a dividing line for Bible faith.

39)  We either believe them as they are written or we do not.

40)  If we do believe they occurred, the next step is to act on that belief.

41)  We act on that faith by first becoming a Christian; the steps are faith, repentance, confession, baptism.

42)  Then we act on our baptism by being faithful to God in the ways He has described.

43)  Do we have faith in the God of the Bible?  Have we demonstrated that faith by being obedient?

 

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/SciTech/Living/miracles_science_040212-2.html