The Supernatural

INTRODUCTION

If you want someone's ears to perk up, start talking to them about what we call the supernatural.

People are fascinated with the supernatural; even some Christians will ditch the rest of the Bible for prophecy, the end times, and the book of Revelation.

Today, as we continue our Bottom Line series in Core 52, I will take you to a passage I alluded to last week.

The passage is found in Matthew 25.

Here is some context for the passage.

Jesus gives a couple of parables, the Parable of the Ten Virgins and the Parable of the Talents.

In the Parable of the Ten Virgins, Jesus continues the solemn declaration of the uncertainty of the time of His return and of the necessity of being ready for such an event, the Jesus added this parable of The Talents as a needful complement to that of The Virgins.

In The Virgins, He revealed the necessity of attending to inward character, but in The Talents, He combined that necessity with a strong enforcement of outward exertion. Herbert Lockyer, All the Parables of the Bible, The All Series (Zondervan, 2013), 242.

Then, Jesus shifts to the subject of the final judgment, where He is no longer telling a parable but moves to share straight up how the time of the final judgment will go down.

I said last week verses 31-46 should cause us to do a double take at the passage, and it should challenge us to make sure, as in the parables Jesus shared earlier in the chapter, that we are prepared internally and externally and are ready to go when the time goes.

Typically, when I dive into this chapter, I would take you through a message on the final judgment and encourage and warn you to be ready.

Today, however, we will focus on something given to us in our passage in verse 41.

As a Christian, I have glossed over what we will see today because what Jesus says is something most all of us assume, yet our focus and our life choices may reveal that we don't give the things Jesus shares with us much thought.

In verse 4, Jesus shares some realities we need to embrace.

Here is our passage.

Matthew 25:41 (NET 2nd ed.)

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!

Now, we want to hit the pause button right here and talk about this for a moment this morning.

Our big idea, our theme for this morning, isn't really about the final judgment or this teaching specifically, but it is the reality and the importance of grasping the existence of the supernatural or the spiritual realm.

I believe many people would acknowledge there is a physical and a spiritual world or realm.

SLIDE OF THE NATURAL WORLD AND SPIRITUAL WORLD OVERLAP.

I believe that people tend to see the spiritual and natural or physical world as the graphic from my friend Dan Raymond represents.

We acknowledge the existence of both a physical and spiritual world, but we only see a slight overlap of the two worlds; we see the supernatural (Spirit world) as something far away that has little or no impact or influence over my life in the physical world.

The second graphic represents the reality that we MUST apprehend.

SLIDE OF SPIRITUAL ENGULFING THE PHYSICAL.

The truth is that the spiritual, supernatural world all around us, the physical world, is engulfed by the spiritual!

Everything about the Christian life involves the supernatural.

1 Corinthians 15:40–44 (NET 2nd ed.)

40 And there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. The glory of the heavenly body is one sort and the earthly another.

41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon and another glory of the stars, for star differs from star in glory.

42 It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable.

43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;

44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

I want to take you back to verses 31-34 for our first observation.

Matthew 25:31–34 (NET 2nd ed.)

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.

32 All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

SERMON

I. In the spiritual realm, there exists a place called Heaven.

When Jesus speaks on the subject, Jesus talks about those on the right (the sheep) inheriting a kingdom that was prepared for them from the foundation of the world; we call that place Heaven!

Jesus makes it clear there is a place we call Heaven.

The Bible makes it clear there is a place called Heaven,

John 14:1–3 (NET 2nd ed.)

1 “Do not let your hearts be distressed. You believe in God; believe also in me.

2 There are many dwelling places in my Father’s house. Otherwise, I would have told you, because I am going away to make ready a place for you.

3 And if I go and make ready a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that where I am you may be too.

Jesus is preparing the place where we will be if we are in Christ!

The Book of Revelation speaks of this place.

Revelation 21:1–4 (NET 2nd ed.)

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, and the sea existed no more.

2 And I saw the holy city—the new Jerusalem—descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them.

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more—or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.”

This is a real place, a place we should want to go, not just because it will be awesome but because we get to spend eternity with God!

We get to be in this wonderful place with Jesus and those who are in Christ for eternity!

Jesus speaks with authority about Heaven, indicating its existence and its significance.

When He describes the final judgment, He speaks of a kingdom prepared for the righteous since the creation of the world.

This tells us that Heaven is not an afterthought but a central part of God's plan for humanity.

Heaven is depicted as a place of inheritance for those who the Father blesses.

It is a kingdom, a realm of divine rule and order, where God's will is perfectly fulfilled.

The imagery of a kingdom prepared since the creation of the world suggests a place of ultimate purpose and design, crafted with love and intention by our Creator.

Jesus' words remind us that Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.

It calls us to live lives that reflect the values of the kingdom of Heaven—lives of love, mercy, justice, and faithfulness.

Our actions and choices on earth are a preparation for our eternal destiny.

Let's go back to verse 41.

Matthew 25:41 (NET 2nd ed.)

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!

II. In the spiritual realm, there exists a place called Hell.

Jesus drops this bomb– the final destiny of those who reject Him will be in a place he calls eternal fire, and it is a destiny that was originally prepared for the devil and his angels.

In Matthew 25:41the word "eternal fire" comes from the Greek word that conveys the idea of everlasting punishment.

It is depicted as a realm of darkness, fire, and torment where souls are sent as a consequence of their militant or ignoring rejection of Jesus.

Matthew 25:41 highlights the existence of Hell as a place of eternal punishment prepared for those who reject God and live in disobedience to His will.

The concept of Hell serves as a reminder of the consequences of sin and the importance of living a righteous and obedient life.

It underscores the justice of God, who punishes evil and rewards righteousness in the afterlife.

Hell also serves as a motivation for believers to share the message of salvation and to live according to God's will so as to avoid the fate of eternal separation from Him.

Hell is a place that God does not want folks to go to; as a matter of fact, it is a place prepared for the devil and his angels.

God does not send people to Hell; people send themselves there.

Mark Moore points out in the reading something worth thinking about.

Another truth that often eludes us is that a person’s damnation is not God’s desire but that person’s own decision.

Technically, God doesn’t throw people into hell.

Individuals reject God’s presence; where else are they to go but to a place inhabited by those who refuse God’s rule?

Let’s be frank: people who reject God on this earth have made their own hell here.

Moore, Mark E.. Core 52: A Fifteen-Minute Daily Guide to Build Your Bible IQ in a Year (p. 169). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

There is a place called Hell, and it is no joke!

Let's go back to our passage.

Matthew 25:41 (NET 2nd ed.)

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!

III. In the spiritual realm, there exists Team God and Team Devil.

We need to realize that in the spiritual realm, there is Team God and Team Devil.

On Team God, there is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

The righteous who accept the invitation from Jesus are a part of the team.

Also on this team are angels, they are a separate created being who have three primary functions.

First, they are messengers.

The Greek word we translate angel is defined as messenger.

Second, angels minister to Jesus. Mark 1:13, Psalm 9:11-12.

Mark 1:13 (NET 2nd ed.)

13 He was in the wilderness forty days, enduring temptations from Satan. He was with wild animals, and angels were ministering to his needs.

Psalm 91:11–12 (NET 2nd ed.)

11 For he will order his angels to protect you in all you do.

12 They will lift you up in their hands, so you will not slip and fall on a stone.

They comforted Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane as an example.

The Third thing angels do is validate God's people by mere association.

In other words, when a person was next to an angel, they were associated with God.

This happened in the case of Moses in Acts 7:35 as well as Cornelius in Acts 10:3-4.

Acts 7:35 (NET 2nd ed.)

35 This same Moses they had rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’ God sent as both ruler and deliverer through the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

Acts 10:3–4 (NET 2nd ed.)

3 About three o’clock one afternoon he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God who came in and said to him, “Cornelius.”

4 Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius replied, “What is it, Lord?” The angel said to him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity have gone up as a memorial before God.

Being in the company of angels marks a person as God's person.

Then there is Team Devil.

His team includes himself and the fallen angels (called demons) who followed him when he was cast out of Heaven for their rebellion against God.

His team also includes all who reject Jesus.

Mark Moore states the following concerning demons in the Core 52 book.

Demons are real, and they're no joke.

They know who Jesus is (Mark 1:24, 34) and believe in God (James 2:19), yet they choose to follow Satan, who is himself a fallen angel (Revelation 12:7–9).

Moore, Mark E E. Core 52: A Fifteen-Minute Daily Guide to Build Your Bible IQ in a Year (p. 169). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Demons are no joke and are not to be messed with, and they mean to do harm to anyone they can!

CONCLUSION

Here we are at the so what again.

We must understand that we are in the midst of a spiritual battle.

We need to understand the landscape and what we are facing.

Ephesians 6:12 (NET 2nd ed.)

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.

We spend too much time wasting energy, resources, and ammunition against the wrong opponent.

People are not the enemy; Team Devil is the enemy.

We are in the center of the battle, a battle for the souls of those we love.

What are you going to do about it?

The kingdom of darkness has no power over you other than what you give it!

James 4:7 (NET 2nd ed.)

7 So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Will you submit to God or let the enemy win in your life?