SIGNS OF DIVINITY: Sign of Divine Provision

For many people, Divinity is relegated only to the realm of mythology, the religious realm, or the spiritual world.  It is as if the spiritual life is separate from all of the other areas of life.  

In the Biblical reporting of Jesus many often forget that Jesus WAS a human man, with human desires and needs.  By submitting himself WHOLLY to the guidance of his Divine Spiritual nature, Jesus became the Christ that many venerate today. The point is that many people only perceive a part of Jesus, his spiritual part, and fail to perceive how ALL of the parts of Jesus fit together to provide a perfect exemplar for our physical and spiritual lives.

The salvation offered by Christianity is for the WHOLE PERSON and not just our physical selves or spiritual selves.  Divinity seeks to help and sustain us in every area of life, and we can trust that will do so.  Just as the divine meets our every need, we can be a conduit of Divine care in the lives of others.

SIGNS OF DIVINITY: The Sign of Divine Authority

Some reasons that employees have given for missing work:

I ate cat food instead of tuna and am deathly ill. 

 
Someone glued my doors and windows shut so I can’t leave the house to come to work. 

My false teeth flew out the window while I was driving down the highway. 

I am experiencing traumatic stress from a large spider found in my home, and I have to stay home to deal with it. 

I have a headache after going to too many garage sales. 

I have to mow the lawn to avoid a lawsuit from the Homeowners’ Association. 

I woke up in a good mood and don’t want to ruin it. 

 

What are some reasons that you have heard of that people give for not choosing to get physically, emotionally, or spiritually well? 

When people assume Divine compassion and power is limited the same as humanity’s, they give excuses for their conditions rather than trust Divine authority to accomplish the supernatural. Consequently, they might miss Divine compassion and power in action. In this Rewind we look at a sign of Jesus' authority that shows that Jesus works in a way that goes beyond our expectations.  We look at Jesus' visit to the pool of Bethesda and see an example that challenges us to evaluate whether we have legitimate reasons or merely excuses for our conditions. 

We all make assumptions every day...we assume that people will drive carefully; we assume that the food we are served was healthfully prepared. We also make assumptions about how Divinity works. We assume we know how, but this episode with Jesus paints a far better and more accurate picture of how God works.

SIGNS OF DIVINITY: The Sign of Divine Glory

When you see a sign do you tend to believe it or to ignore it?  For example, "slippery when wet" or "caution wet floor" sign. The result of ignoring signs often results in adverse consequences. This eight session study titled Signs of Divinity looks at the signs of Divinity to which the Gospel of John points.

Let’s start by looking at two things.  The word divine is derived from an ancient word root dyeu meaning to shine.  And the word glory is from a Hebrew word meaning brightness, splendor, magnificence, and majesty of outward appearance. 

The glory that WE bring to our own lives is a flawed glory.  When we "shine the spotlight" on ourselves it fades quickly.  But when we bring glory to Divinity we are pointing out eternal glory to those around us.  “Hey, look at ME!” Is much different than “Wow!  Look at those stars!”

 

The first recorded miracle of Jesus brought, or reinforced,  a first hand awareness of the divine to Jesus' mother, some of his disciples, some servants and perhaps some party goers at a wedding in Cana.  While unnoticed by a majority of the public this miracle serves to point out the divine nature of miracles, which are extraordinary events attributed to the direct intervention or power of a divine being.  It surpasses ordinary capabilities of nature, human effort, or scientific explanation, inspiring awe, wonder, or faith serving as a sign point to the presence, power, authority or revelation of a Divine Being.

The Sign of His Light

Have you ever heard the expression "the hardest part about being deceived is that you don't KNOW you are being deceived.  Something similar can be said about our "sight", our ability to see the truth.  We can easily convince ourselves that we may clearly see reality, when in reality we are blind. But when we encounter Christ our perspective changes and we gain understanding of Spiritual truth and life.

Claude Monet, one of my favorite early 20th century painters, is considered the founder of the French impressionist art movement.  He had tremendous influence upon art, but what we rarely hear is how Monet had a vision impairment that would lead to his eventual blindness. 

In this study we look at John 9:1-11, and 30 to 33 at the sixth sign John reported of the miraculous acts of Jesus that reveal his glory as the Christ, the Son of God, and attest to his saving mission.  

The Sign of his Presence

Have you ever been lost and alone? Maybe the group you were with wandered off and you were in a strange place and didn't know where to turn. Or maybe you found yourself in a risky situation and experienced the proverbial deer in the headlights reaction? What is it that makes circumstances such as these worrisome? Fear is the common reaction. Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or is a threat in some other way.

One thing to notice about this definition is that fear is NOT the danger itself, fear is the unpleasant emotion. Yeah, so you might be saying, but in today's study we will see that In Jesus' presence, we have no need to fear. Even in the face of danger, pain, or some other threat, with Jesus we can rely upon the sign of his presence to calm our fears.