The most supernatural miracle that God does in this world is to radically transform the life of an individual, who repents of their sins and gives the control of their will and life to the Lord Jesus Christ.

 
I.  Supernatural Miracle of a new life seen in nature
     A. Illustrated by metamorphosis

This supernatural life-changing miracle is illustrated by God in nature by what is called metamorphosis, a process whereby a caterpillar is transformed into a beautiful butterfly. The caterpillar is a very selfish and ugly creature, who constantly consumes his appetites. He is a Taker who is only concerned about his desires and appetites. But then, God does a miracle and transforms him into a beautiful creature, who becomes a Giver.

  Likewise, God takes some of the ugliest individuals in this world, who are Takers and transforms them into something beautiful, who become Givers! The Bible proclaims: “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature;  that old things pass away, and behold, all things are becoming new (2 Corinthians 5:17).”

 
II.  Supernatural Miracle of a new life seen in a person
       A. Illustrated by my changed life

  Forty-three years ago I was like a caterpillar who was only concerned about my appetites and desires. I lived to stay “high on drugs and alcohol” and believed that my life was unjust because I grew up in a home where domestic violence and child abuse were every day occurrences. I blamed my misery and pain on my abusive father, who was a chronic alcoholic.

  Sad to say, the older I got I found myself becoming like my father as I had become an alcoholic and a very violent individual, who engaged in criminal activity. This kind of behavior lead me receiving a ten year sentence without parole for armed robbery. I was in an institution that housed twenty-five hundred, who were just as violent as I was.

  I threaten someone and was place in an isolation cell for several weeks where I had time to reflect on my life and realized that I had no hope at all in this life. I was a loser and failure and on the verge of engaging constantly in thoughts of suicidal or homicide. After I got out of isolation I learned that a carton of my cigarettes were missing and I believed that my cell partner had stolen them. I decided to send a strong message to the other inmates:” Don’t mess with Bill or you will get hurt!” I planned on severally hurting my cell partner that night!

But wait, God had another plan-He chose to call me to a new supernatural life! I was called to the Chaplain’s office and he asked me if I had ever considered that maybe God was the missing dimension in my life. I told him that nobody had ever mentioned to me that God could radical transform my life. He gave me a Gideon Bible and a religious tract. I looked at the Bible and decided that it was too difficult to read so I threw it in the corner of my cell.

But God had another plan as I looked at the religious tract that told of a man by the name of George Ashworth, who stumbled into the Evansville Rescue Mission as a chronic alcoholic and through the power of God was transformed into a very successful business man, who became a layman preacher, who traveled the world with the Gideon’s organization. I was amazed that I had never heard that kind of testimony in my whole life. It had to be a God-thing

because Evansville was my home town.

   Therefore, I said to myself, “Maybe this is the missing dimension in my life.” I begin to devour my Gideon Bible and the Lord begin to speak to me as His word were living words that begin to transform my thinking, attitudes, behavior, and lifestyle. I suddenly realized that my vulgar vocabulary had mysteriously disappeared. I even had a new desire to forgive my father so I wrote him an eighteen page letter that I spelled out the specific acts of abuse that he had done to me and my brother and two sisters in addition to my mother. But I told him that I forgave him because the Lord has forgiven me so much!

When I mailed out that letter I was mysteriously delivered from all my hatred and total lack of peace. For the first time in my life I found myself being invaded by a new quality of life that was characterized by unselfish love. I could love other individuals regardless of culture, color, and creed. It felt Good! This all happen after I kneed in a cell and invited the Lord Jesus Christ into my heart.
 

  I recalled that one day an officer in the prison told me something important: “He said to me, you have made a believer out of me!” Then he explains: “I know that as much as you have changed that only God could have done it!” This was an officer that I had previously cussed out on several occasions. He had observed the supernatural life that the Lord had placed in me. To God be all the glory-Great things that He has done!

  God used me in that prison for three and a half years and I saw hundreds of men give their life to the Lord and they tried to give me the credit for a work that only God could do. The Lord disclosed to me in Isaiah 42:6-7 that one day I would minister in a correctional facility.

  The Governor of the state of Indiana gave me an Executive Clemency and I left prison in an extraordinary fashion after serving four and a half years when I should have served at least seven or eight years. I came out of prison with twenty-five dollars in my pocket and one set of clothes. The next week I was in college with my tuition paid for as a part-time student. The faculty at Heritage Baptist University was reluctant for me to attend school full-time!

  I graduated from college and later from seminary, but they didn’t teach me half as much as the Lord taught me in prison where I read the Bible through six or seven times and memorized hundred of verses in addition to reading over a hundred books. I thank the Lord for the Gideon Organization that provide the Bible that lead to my salvation.

  For the next twenty-nine years the Lord gave me on the job training to prepare me to become the Chaplain of the Hamilton County where we consistently have 1900 to 2100 hundred inmates booked every month in this facility. I was a visitation director of a church, pastor of several small churches, director of both girl’s and boy’s homes, probation officer for juveniles, therapeutic foster home counselor, substance abuse counselor, and a vocation counselor working with mentally-challenged individuals.  It has been a wonderful adventure!

  The Lord has used me to touch the lives of inmates, their wives, and children. I praise the Lord for the golden opportunities that He has given. I had many failures but I always did my best to present the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit and allow the Lord to give me wisdom on what to do.

III.  Supernatural Miracle of a new life is mandetory in
         God's sight

  I meet a lot of individuals in the community who are trying to reach out to God in religious activities and acts of charity believing that their works will make them acceptable to God. On the other hand, God is reaching down to man and telling them: “Their heart is deceitful above all thing and desperately wicked, who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)” Therefore, it takes a supernatural life in order for someone to enter into heaven. Jesus said: “…Except a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3)” Jesus is speaking of a new supernatural life. If a person doesn’t have a supernatural life they will never get into heaven. When God looks into our heart this is what He sees: "For from within, out of the heart of man, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, intense sexual thoughts, an evil, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man (Mark 7:21-23).

  It is the gospel which is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). Therefore, the gospel is believing in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He arose from the dead and conquered sin, Satan, and death and hell. I acknowledge that Jesus Christ took the wrath of God for my sins as my substitute and took my sin, shame, suffering, and deserved punishment. God spared not His own Son, but gave His best for the worst. I realize that it was my sin that was the reason that He died.

Therefore, I must repent of my sins and believe that he died personally for me. Your faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ will release the power of God and you will experience a supernatural birth called the new birth from above (John 3:6-12). The end result will be both eternal life and an abundant life.

IV.  Supernatural Miracle of a new life is by faith 
        A. Illustrated in the Old Testament
             1.  Their faith nullified death
             2.  Their faith gave new life
             3.   Their faith released the power of God

In the Old Testament God gives an illustration regarding putting our faith in the Cross and what was accomplished at Calvary that is found in Number 21:1-9. The Israelites were murmuring and complaining in addition to challenging His authority. Therefore, He sent snakes into their midst, who were biting them and they asked Moses to pray to God for which He did and the Lord told Moses to make a bronze serpent and place it on a pole and everyone who looked at that bronze serpent in faith would be healed of their snake bite. That sounds illogical and unrealistic. The miracle took place because they believed what God told them to do. Faith respect what God says and expects Him to do what He says. Faith focus on the object of your faith. In their case they focus on the bronze serpent that represent judgment (John 3:14).

   Their faith in what God said and their focus on the bronze serpent released the power of God and they were healed. Likewise, we believe what God says about the death, burial, and resurrection and we focus on the object of our faith, which is the Lord Jesus Christ and our faith releases the power of God and we receive a new birth, a supernatural birth! Our faith honor God. We must confess Jesus as our Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead.

 "That if you confess Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved." (Romans 10:9) The greatest promise in the Bible says:  "For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord  he shall be saved!" (Romans 10:13) 

V.  Supernatural Miracle of a new life by prayer
       A.  Prayer of repentance
       B.  Prayer of surrender
       C.  Prayer in faith

   Please pray this prayer: Dear Lord Jesus thank you for dying on the Cross for me, I know that you died because of my sins, please forgive me of all my sins and I invite you to come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. I surrender my heart and life to you. Thank you for forgiving me of all sins. Thank you for coming into my heart in Jesus Name I pray! Respect what God says and expect Him to do it.

  Please contact us and share with us your decision. You need to get into a church and get baptize. Your baptism is the proof that you really trusted the Lord as your Savior. I encourage you to read the book of John three times and focus on Jesus. When I did that I suddenly realized that Jesus was like God and God was like Jesus. God revealed Himself fully in Jesus Christ (read John 3:16, 18, and 36; John 5:24; 6:37; 10:27-30). Praise the Lord for your salvation! Let us rejoice with you!

Chaplain Bill W. Smith (now retired)   (423) 653-6701 

 wsmith5544@hotmail.com