1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,920 You can, Matthew 18, after service. 2 00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:04,880 So we're talking about angels today. 3 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:07,080 Now I asked your elders and your deacons, 4 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:08,680 so the first Monday of every month, 5 00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:12,720 we get together first for just prayer and accountability, 6 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,260 and we try to have our deacon and elder teams, 7 00:00:15,260 --> 00:00:17,000 our care districts, we try to meet together, 8 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:18,760 make sure we go over everything. 9 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:20,840 I think they love it because then I do the devotion 10 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:23,280 every month and they don't have to worry about it. 11 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:24,800 But then we pray and it's a great time. 12 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:26,360 But I asked them my devotion, 13 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:28,680 how many times they think about angels 14 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:30,520 or maybe they've ever encountered angels. 15 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:33,540 And there were a couple stories about driving 16 00:00:33,540 --> 00:00:35,480 and one person wanted to go left, 17 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:38,840 but it went right and they saved themselves from a crash. 18 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:40,960 And one couldn't sleep, woke up, 19 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:42,640 that there was a figure at the end of his bed. 20 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:44,040 It ended up just being a coat. 21 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:48,000 But I mean, angels is a weird discussion 22 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,200 because how many of you think about angels 23 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:51,360 in your day-to-day life? 24 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:53,720 Exactly. 25 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:54,720 We don't. 26 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:56,360 In a lot of ways, we don't. 27 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:58,440 And John Piper's gonna kinda help me in my sermon 28 00:00:58,440 --> 00:00:59,400 a little bit today. 29 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:01,880 I drew some from a sermon he gave a couple years ago 30 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:04,480 because I think it's just some of the things he says. 31 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:06,560 He's just a lot smarter than me, amen. 32 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,560 And it was, to read that really helped me 33 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:11,760 and informed me because I don't. 34 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:12,780 I'm a pastor of a church. 35 00:01:12,780 --> 00:01:14,240 I don't think about it. 36 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:16,040 Outside of the angel that said yes 37 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:18,880 when I asked her to marry me in my life, right? 38 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:21,000 Thank you. 39 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:26,320 And understand that I don't think about it. 40 00:01:26,320 --> 00:01:27,160 I don't. 41 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:29,120 I know that angels are real. 42 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:31,200 The Bible talks about that. 43 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:33,160 We'll get to that in a second. 44 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:37,420 But if I say the word angel, what comes to your mind? 45 00:01:37,420 --> 00:01:38,900 Now if you're new, I ask questions. 46 00:01:38,900 --> 00:01:40,300 I like a little bit of interaction. 47 00:01:40,300 --> 00:01:42,920 You never know where it's gonna go, right Ev? 48 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:44,900 Oh, Evie's not here, but yes. 49 00:01:44,900 --> 00:01:47,700 Anybody, when I say the word angel, what comes to mind? 50 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:49,840 Wrestling. 51 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:51,480 Yeah, okay, someone's a Jacob fan. 52 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:52,760 I like it. 53 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:54,840 A halo, absolutely. 54 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:56,160 A woman. 55 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:57,160 Fair enough, okay. 56 00:01:57,160 --> 00:01:58,960 Your mom, great. 57 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:00,160 Yes. 58 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:01,000 A messenger. 59 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:02,260 That's actually one of my sermon points. 60 00:02:02,260 --> 00:02:04,300 Give your brother a high five. 61 00:02:04,300 --> 00:02:05,140 Nice. 62 00:02:05,140 --> 00:02:05,960 Others. 63 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:08,660 What? 64 00:02:08,660 --> 00:02:10,320 A giant eyeball. 65 00:02:12,500 --> 00:02:14,600 I know when I ask questions 66 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:17,040 that there are times people are gonna say things. 67 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:17,880 Thank you, Austin. 68 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:18,700 A giant eyeball. 69 00:02:18,700 --> 00:02:19,780 Do you wanna elaborate? 70 00:02:19,780 --> 00:02:24,780 I'm gonna have to have a conversation 71 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:27,920 on what books you read as a child 72 00:02:27,920 --> 00:02:29,000 when it came to the Bible. 73 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:30,080 And I know your parents, 74 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:32,200 so I will be making that phone call this week. 75 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:33,760 Others. 76 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:34,840 Protector. 77 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:37,240 Mary. 78 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:38,080 Protection. 79 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:40,120 What? 80 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:45,120 Great, okay, so I think we did a lot of good work, 81 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:47,120 but if we're being honest, 82 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:48,800 I'm gonna ask another question. 83 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,600 If sometime, no, I'm not gonna do that today 84 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:52,880 because Super Bowl, 85 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:54,280 someone's gonna make a Taylor Swift joke 86 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:55,260 and I'm gonna get mad. 87 00:02:55,260 --> 00:02:58,080 So let's say starting after today, 88 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:02,640 if an angel were to encounter you, 89 00:03:02,640 --> 00:03:05,960 that all of a sudden you're in your regular everyday life 90 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,560 and all of a sudden an angel came to you and spoke, 91 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:11,460 how would you react to that? 92 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:13,920 Uh-oh. 93 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:14,980 Scared? 94 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:16,920 Awe? 95 00:03:16,920 --> 00:03:18,880 Okay. 96 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:19,720 Confusion? 97 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:21,880 Anyone else? 98 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:24,520 Why? 99 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:26,000 Good question. 100 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:27,440 Fear, absolutely. 101 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:29,840 Go ahead. 102 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:31,000 A sign. 103 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:31,880 Like what's coming? 104 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:33,140 Okay, fair enough. 105 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:35,000 What did I do? 106 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:36,000 Okay, absolutely. 107 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,240 In the Scott House, that question's asked a lot. 108 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:41,920 And so understand that there's an engagement 109 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:43,880 biblically with angels. 110 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:46,300 So the fact that when I ask how many of you think about them, 111 00:03:46,300 --> 00:03:48,280 only like 11 of you rose your hand, 112 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:54,560 angels and people are engaged throughout the scriptures. 113 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:56,040 Old Testament and new. 114 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,640 We see over 100 in the Old Testament. 115 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:03,640 In the Old Testament, angels were mentioned as messengers, 116 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:06,560 builders, warriors, law givers. 117 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:08,640 Okay, we're gonna keep going April with these. 118 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,980 We see angel announcing things like the birth of Jesus 119 00:04:11,980 --> 00:04:15,760 to Mary, Zachariah and Elizabeth, Joseph and the shepherds. 120 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:20,680 I mean, the entire Christmas story is all molded 121 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:23,040 and shaped by angels. 122 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:24,360 Right, you go with the shepherds. 123 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:26,240 We're gonna pause there for a second. 124 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:30,980 The shepherds, a great multitude of the heavenly host came. 125 00:04:30,980 --> 00:04:33,640 How would that change the story of the shepherds 126 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:35,760 if no angel showed up? 127 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:39,280 It would just be a regular day. 128 00:04:39,280 --> 00:04:41,080 Because not only did the angel show up 129 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:43,040 and sing about the glory of the Lord, 130 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:45,740 i.e. the Messiah, i.e. Jesus, 131 00:04:45,740 --> 00:04:49,200 it sparked something in the shepherds to go. 132 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:50,960 I don't think the shepherds would have just thought 133 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:52,000 about that. 134 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:53,320 Just some random day, they're like, 135 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:55,440 oh, let's go see a baby born in a manger. 136 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:57,080 Not something they're probably gonna do. 137 00:04:57,080 --> 00:04:57,920 Let's keep going. 138 00:04:57,920 --> 00:04:59,920 They ministered to Jesus in the wilderness 139 00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:02,360 after the 40 day fast, right? 140 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:04,680 And Satan left him in the book of Matthew 141 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:07,320 and the angels ministered to him in the book of Luke 142 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:10,400 and Satan left him for a more opportune time 143 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:12,440 and the angels came to minister. 144 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:14,080 We see in the resurrection story, 145 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:17,600 they rolled the stone away from Jesus' grave 146 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,200 because it took a cohort of Roman, 147 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:22,680 not a cohort, but it took many Roman soldiers 148 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:26,080 to roll that stone in front of Jesus' body 149 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:28,600 at the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. 150 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:30,120 The angel rolls it back. 151 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:33,100 They opened the doors of the prisons for the apostles 152 00:05:33,100 --> 00:05:35,040 in Acts chapter five. 153 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:38,160 They directed evangelists where to go. 154 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:40,520 They spoke to unbelievers like Cornelius 155 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,840 about what they should do to find the gospel. 156 00:05:43,840 --> 00:05:46,680 And lastly, they will come with Jesus, the Bible says, 157 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:48,640 at his second coming and there, Austin, 158 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:50,600 is probably where you get more fiery eyes 159 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:51,720 in the book of Revelation. 160 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:53,920 I'm still gonna talk to your parents. 161 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:58,920 And so we understand that angels have a purpose 162 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:00,760 and I think that's one of the biggest things 163 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:03,120 we have to ask when we're gonna wrestle with topics 164 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:05,420 as six of you and the small group wrestled with 165 00:06:05,420 --> 00:06:10,160 over the last couple months is that angels play, right? 166 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:12,300 Angels play in our lives. 167 00:06:12,300 --> 00:06:13,840 They play in scripture. 168 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:16,320 There is nothing that says, and all the angels went up 169 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:18,440 and they won't come back until Revelation. 170 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:21,160 We cannot stand on any of that. 171 00:06:22,220 --> 00:06:24,900 That angels engage God's people 172 00:06:24,900 --> 00:06:26,960 for many, many different reasons. 173 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:28,740 So this morning, there are a couple things 174 00:06:28,740 --> 00:06:30,360 I want us to walk away with. 175 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:32,200 Okay, the first thing is that they are, 176 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:34,920 angels are intentional. 177 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:37,080 That God creates everything with a purpose. 178 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:39,560 They are intentional and Hebrews one says, 179 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:42,280 and to which of these angels has he ever said, 180 00:06:42,280 --> 00:06:44,760 sit at my right hand until I make your enemies 181 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:46,980 a footstool for your feet. 182 00:06:46,980 --> 00:06:50,240 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve 183 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:54,100 for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? 184 00:06:54,100 --> 00:06:57,560 So right there, angels are given a job. 185 00:06:57,560 --> 00:06:59,940 So that's one thing we have to understand about angels. 186 00:06:59,940 --> 00:07:03,220 They don't just float about doing their own will. 187 00:07:03,220 --> 00:07:05,060 That is not how that works. 188 00:07:05,060 --> 00:07:09,240 That angels are governed by the sovereign God 189 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:10,320 over creation. 190 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:14,600 That angels are sent to do many different things. 191 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:17,640 The first, they are intentional. 192 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:20,320 And that's a good thing because they are intentional 193 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:22,820 to bring about certain things. 194 00:07:24,100 --> 00:07:25,960 And one of the things that I find remarkable, 195 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:30,160 and so does John Piper, about this verse, 196 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:32,360 is that it says that angels exist 197 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:35,040 for the sake of Christians. 198 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:39,200 Those who are to inherit salvation for the world. 199 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:45,580 That angels are sent to help and aid the believer. 200 00:07:45,580 --> 00:07:47,480 That was one of the elders. 201 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:50,440 That they give testimony that an angel helped them 202 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:53,960 swerve outside of what could have been a really bad crash 203 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:54,800 in their car. 204 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:56,440 Maybe you've had those situations 205 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:58,000 when you can't really explain it. 206 00:07:58,000 --> 00:07:59,360 You've heard me probably say, 207 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:03,240 coincidences are time when God chooses to remain anonymous. 208 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:04,520 Okay? 209 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:06,240 And he could use angels for that. 210 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:08,840 This verse says it says that they are serving us 211 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:10,760 as ministering spirits. 212 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:13,440 Now let me ask a question. 213 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:16,780 How many of you are comfortable with that? 214 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:19,680 Okay? 215 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:20,960 This side of the room. 216 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:23,680 This side of the room, we really have to work on stuff. 217 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:26,120 Okay, because a lot of times, maybe they're just sleeping. 218 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:28,160 But, you know, anyway. 219 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:29,320 They are ministering. 220 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:31,440 Why didn't everybody's hand, 221 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:33,320 why are you not comfortable understanding 222 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:36,800 that angels are there to minister to you and me? 223 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:39,160 Because it's weird. 224 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:41,480 Let's just call it for what it is. 225 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:44,100 I don't want to think about it that way. 226 00:08:44,100 --> 00:08:46,480 I kind of want to comfort myself. 227 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:49,640 I want to think that God just sends a tractor beam 228 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:51,680 of comfort down to me, right? 229 00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:56,000 And just like Star Trek, I just receive his comfort. 230 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:59,160 But the Bible makes it very clear that he sends angels 231 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:01,040 to do some of these things. 232 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:02,000 Can God do it? 233 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:03,440 Absolutely. 234 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:05,040 But this verse also brings up, 235 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:08,000 and maybe the most amazing thing of all, 236 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,680 is not just some, but all of them serve Christians 237 00:09:11,680 --> 00:09:16,680 to help us make it home to heaven. 238 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:20,680 They are intentional in helping you along the way. 239 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:24,400 So I like that when I hear that, 240 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:27,120 I liken it to cadet leaders. 241 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:30,000 I liken it to parents or catechism teachers 242 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:31,760 or lighthouse, even nursery. 243 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:34,000 This isn't a plug for the nursery signups. 244 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:34,840 We're doing good. 245 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:35,920 We still need a little more. 246 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:40,440 But understand that you may be in kind of the place 247 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:43,700 of an angelic spirit for somebody else. 248 00:09:43,700 --> 00:09:45,160 Now that doesn't mean you wear a halo 249 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:46,920 and have wings and make it weird. 250 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:50,760 But understand that we follow that same vision, 251 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:54,320 if you will, of ministering alongside. 252 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:56,080 That we are being ministered to, 253 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:57,960 and we are called to minister. 254 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:00,300 So if angels are going to be intentional, 255 00:10:00,300 --> 00:10:02,400 then we need to be intentional 256 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:04,560 on ministering one to another. 257 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:07,640 We can learn from angels, and there's a key reason why, 258 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:09,440 but I'm gonna get to that at the end. 259 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:11,240 One of the things I love, 260 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:13,420 the second attribute about angels I want us to know, 261 00:10:13,420 --> 00:10:15,060 they are intimate. 262 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:16,840 I know for some of you, 263 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:18,880 the word intimacy makes you uncomfortable. 264 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:19,840 Get over it. 265 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:22,360 Because God is a very intimate being 266 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:25,360 that wants that intimate relationship with you. 267 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:27,960 God doesn't cast his salvation in you 268 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:28,860 from a long way away, 269 00:10:28,860 --> 00:10:30,600 because he wants nothing really to do with you. 270 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:33,400 No, he wants you closer than your two front teeth. 271 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:37,200 He wants to be that intimacy, and he sends his angels. 272 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:40,520 Psalm 103, 20 and 21, bless the Lord. 273 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:44,240 O you, his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, 274 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:46,420 obeying the voice of his word, 275 00:10:46,420 --> 00:10:49,280 bless the Lord, all the hosts, his minister, 276 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:51,340 to do his will. 277 00:10:51,340 --> 00:10:53,500 He would not send angels to do that 278 00:10:53,500 --> 00:10:56,520 if there was not a relationship there. 279 00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:58,960 We see in the book of Revelation, 280 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:02,120 he's going to command legions of angels. 281 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:03,880 Jesus talks about that, 282 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:05,600 that in a snap of his finger, 283 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:09,060 he can send legions of angels. 284 00:11:09,060 --> 00:11:10,560 There's an intimacy there. 285 00:11:10,560 --> 00:11:12,400 There's an obedience there. 286 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:15,200 So just as intentionality, 287 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:17,380 so we should be intentional with our faith, 288 00:11:17,380 --> 00:11:18,660 and with others, 289 00:11:18,660 --> 00:11:21,520 there's an intimacy to our faith. 290 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:26,160 That if we honestly tell someone that we love them, 291 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:28,440 that we want to walk alongside them, 292 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:31,200 and let's not even talk about one-to-one relationships. 293 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:33,280 Let's talk about what we agree to 294 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:37,400 every time a baby or a child or an adult is baptized. 295 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:41,120 Next week, we're gonna baptize the youngest Stegenga. 296 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:42,140 I totally forgot his name. 297 00:11:42,140 --> 00:11:42,980 What's his name? 298 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:45,340 Andrew, right? 299 00:11:45,340 --> 00:11:47,180 I keep thinking Jackson, we already did his. 300 00:11:47,180 --> 00:11:49,660 But Andrew, we're gonna baptize him next week, 301 00:11:49,660 --> 00:11:51,460 and you all are going to make a promise 302 00:11:51,460 --> 00:11:53,600 to walk alongside the family. 303 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:56,480 If that's not intimacy, I don't know what is. 304 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:59,080 Now, some of you are gonna do that very intentionally. 305 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:02,040 Some of you are gonna be Andrew's Sunday school teacher. 306 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:04,520 He may be a catechism teacher, 307 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:06,840 maybe junior high or senior high. 308 00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:08,360 Maybe you're gonna, when he's an adult, 309 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:09,880 you're gonna be in a prayer group with him, 310 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:11,120 or a Bible study. 311 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:13,800 There is intimacy in that. 312 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:15,760 The angels get it. 313 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:17,720 We need to get it too. 314 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:20,080 That part of our faith is being intentional. 315 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:23,760 Part of our faith is being intimate one with another 316 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:26,220 for the sake of the gospel, for blessing others, 317 00:12:26,220 --> 00:12:29,520 to walking alongside others when they struggle. 318 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,440 These are things we can learn from angels. 319 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:34,600 It says angels are mighty ones. 320 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:36,580 They're not baby-like. 321 00:12:36,580 --> 00:12:38,520 You see in all the kind of picture, 322 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:39,800 like you go to the Sistine Chapel, 323 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:42,280 and you see them, they're all these just fat babies. 324 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:46,420 That's the picture that, who did the Sistine Chapel again? 325 00:12:46,420 --> 00:12:47,440 Michelangelo, thank you. 326 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:49,560 This side's up now. 327 00:12:49,560 --> 00:12:50,640 Good. 328 00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:52,880 He just wrote these angels like fat chubby babies 329 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:56,180 because it was this understanding of purity 330 00:12:56,180 --> 00:12:57,720 that angels were pure. 331 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:01,000 I don't know how the Sistine Chapel would look 332 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:03,960 if we take Austin's words and just do fiery eyes 333 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:04,920 all over it. 334 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:07,480 I don't know how many people would wanna go see that 335 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:09,020 when they go to Italy, 336 00:13:09,020 --> 00:13:12,020 but understand that they're more than that. 337 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:16,920 Angels get the word hosts, or troops, or legions, 338 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:18,040 or armies. 339 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:20,920 Angels are seen also as like a military force 340 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:24,360 because they know who their captain is. 341 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:26,360 They know who the general of their life is. 342 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,980 They know who the Lord of their life is, their creator God. 343 00:13:29,980 --> 00:13:31,960 We should do the same. 344 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:36,480 So it seems to me, and to John Piper, 345 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:40,320 that we can infer from this that God loves to create 346 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:45,240 an abundance of doers of his will at multiple levels. 347 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:48,640 He has in the scriptures inanimate objects do his will. 348 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:51,440 He commands the sea and it obeys them. 349 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:53,120 No one said the Red Sea was angels, 350 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:55,880 but God can use creation to do his will. 351 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:56,920 We see that. 352 00:13:56,920 --> 00:13:58,960 Animals, right? 353 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:02,280 We see the whale or the big fish swallowing Jonah. 354 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:05,840 We see the talking donkey, right, in the Old Testament. 355 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:08,760 Humans do his will, or hope we do, 356 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:11,200 and angels do his will. 357 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:13,760 God created millions upon millions of angels 358 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:18,120 as a fitting regal royal assembly for his magnificence. 359 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:19,600 And I wanna pause right there 360 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:22,160 because I think some of you just got uncomfortable. 361 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:25,680 That some of you, because of what we've looked at 362 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:28,200 over the last six weeks, have this view of God 363 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:30,160 that you wanna be pretty close to 364 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:32,520 because that makes you the most comfortable. 365 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:34,120 And I've told you time and time again, 366 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:36,640 that's a very dangerous place to be. 367 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:41,640 We are not called to be on God's level. 368 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:46,640 We are not called to be peers with the creator God. 369 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:50,560 We are called to live a life recognizing Jesus as Lord 370 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:54,160 and following God's precepts and his laws in life. 371 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:56,680 And so are the angels. 372 00:14:57,840 --> 00:14:59,240 But there's a difference, 373 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:00,880 and we'll get to that in a second. 374 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:03,840 One of the other aspects that I want us 375 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:06,480 to understand about angels is they increase 376 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:09,360 the glory of God, Daniel seven. 377 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:13,360 Daniel seven, a stream of fire issued and came out 378 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:17,960 from before him, a thousand thousand served him 379 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:21,680 and 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him. 380 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:25,000 The court sat in judgment and the books were opened 381 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,760 that there is an understanding that angels, 382 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:32,240 their main job is to glorify God. 383 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:35,800 I don't know anyone in the scriptures that encounter 384 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:39,760 an angel and doesn't have a mind blow when it comes to God 385 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:41,400 and who God is. 386 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:43,920 We see it throughout the scriptures. 387 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:48,520 One of the engagements I love is the story of Jesus 388 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:51,960 that we read at Christmas, that the angel went to Mary, 389 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:55,160 the angel went to Joseph to make it work, 390 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:59,600 to make it right, to give them, out of their chaos, 391 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:01,440 reason and peace. 392 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:04,920 But I don't know if you could be Mary and Joseph 393 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:08,080 and not think that believing in God is a bad idea. 394 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:12,440 That angels, what they do is they magnify 395 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:14,800 the glory of the Lord. 396 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:17,520 So if you're following my theme this morning, 397 00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:22,520 if the angels can do it, how much more should we do that? 398 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:27,320 Well, but pastor, how do I increase the glory of God? 399 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:30,640 Because you are his image bearer. 400 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:33,640 The angels are not. 401 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:36,240 That's the key difference here. 402 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:39,000 That when God made creation, right, 403 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:42,280 he didn't create the trees in his image, 404 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:44,160 he didn't create the grass in his image, 405 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:46,720 definitely didn't create the snow in his image, 406 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:49,240 and you all know how I feel about snow. 407 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:51,800 He didn't create the angels in his image. 408 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,600 He created you and me in his image. 409 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:59,280 There is a plan of salvation for us set forth 410 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:01,160 in Genesis chapter three. 411 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:03,400 We see in Matthew chapter 18, 412 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:07,080 see that you do not despise one of these little ones, 413 00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:09,600 for I tell you that in heaven their angels 414 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:12,440 always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 415 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:14,920 This is when Jesus is welcoming the children. 416 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:17,640 This is when Jesus is recognizing the difference 417 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:19,800 between the humans and the angels. 418 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:22,600 The angels outside of one group, 419 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:24,400 and we're gonna get to that in a second. 420 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:27,040 Maybe some of you got all comfortable with angels 421 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:28,440 over the last 15 minutes. 422 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:32,600 It's about to get real not comfortable in a second. 423 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:38,120 But understand, angels do not bear the image of God. 424 00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:43,280 You and me bear the image of God. 425 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:45,640 So if we are bearing the image of God, 426 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,320 how much more should we be intentional 427 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:50,200 about living out our faith, 428 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:53,680 showing intimacy that we have in our relationship. 429 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:55,160 When people look at you they go, 430 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:57,880 wow, they have a very close relationship. 431 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:01,200 They have a very close relationship with God. 432 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:04,240 Or do they insert God with something else? 433 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:06,840 Ooh, they really have an intimate relationship with, 434 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:09,680 insert something from the world here. 435 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:12,920 That intimacy, that intentionality should then 436 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:15,600 show and increase the glory of God 437 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:17,840 in your life and in others. 438 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:19,920 I don't want people to say, 439 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:22,920 wow, they're a good member of Munster Church. 440 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:23,960 Yeah, that's all well and good 441 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:25,800 and I would appreciate people saying that, 442 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,220 but I would say, man, they're like Jesus. 443 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:33,640 That is something the angels cannot do. 444 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:37,640 That is something you and I are called to do. 445 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:40,480 We are called to be image bearers. 446 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:46,040 So as we've seen, angels come alongside believers. 447 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:50,340 They do it in tremendous ways. 448 00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:54,640 I mean, you think about the good, the bad, and the ugly. 449 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:55,960 You think of the good, right? 450 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:59,400 You think about Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zachariah. 451 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:01,840 You think about the angels ministering to Jesus 452 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:05,240 and we get these wonderful images of angels. 453 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:06,400 They're great. 454 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,440 But then you also get the fire allegiance. 455 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:12,840 You also get the angels at Sodom and Gomorrah. 456 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:15,800 You also get the fact that angels are also there 457 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:18,300 to do the justice of the Lord. 458 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:22,420 And sometimes that is death. 459 00:19:22,420 --> 00:19:26,580 I mean, think if you were the angel called to that. 460 00:19:26,580 --> 00:19:28,860 That as the angel, you're gonna go through 461 00:19:28,860 --> 00:19:32,860 the streets of Egypt and you're gonna take the life 462 00:19:32,860 --> 00:19:34,860 of the eldest born son. 463 00:19:36,900 --> 00:19:39,260 Now whether you're the Prince of Egypt kind of fan 464 00:19:39,260 --> 00:19:41,460 or the Ten Commandments of Charlton Heston, 465 00:19:41,460 --> 00:19:43,700 would you remember that green mist 466 00:19:43,700 --> 00:19:46,860 scared me half to death for about a month, 467 00:19:46,860 --> 00:19:48,360 the angel of death. 468 00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:51,720 In some ways, I think I'm glad that we're not called 469 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:55,880 to be and do exactly what the angels are called to do. 470 00:19:56,840 --> 00:19:59,600 Because we have a different call. 471 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:02,720 We are called to be image bearers of Christ. 472 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:05,320 We are called to increase the glory of God 473 00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:08,160 in the things we do in our lives, the words we say, 474 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:12,320 the thoughts we think, the actions that we walk out. 475 00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:15,960 And I know for me, that's convicting. 476 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:20,120 I know for me, that causes me to take a step back 477 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:24,280 and go, what brand of God am I showing off to the world? 478 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:28,120 The angels didn't have to worry about that 479 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:31,400 because the angels were 100% obedient all the time. 480 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:35,280 Well wait, Pastor Jim, what happened to, 481 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:41,720 you don't have to whisper it, Lisa, it's okay, Satan. 482 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:43,960 What happened to Lucifer? 483 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:46,040 What happened to Lucifer? 484 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:48,160 I'm all excited about angels. 485 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:49,560 Some of you may wanna be one, 486 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:50,720 even though you weren't listening. 487 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:53,640 But understand that we could be really comfortable 488 00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:54,480 with angels. 489 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:56,880 Angels are in my life, angels are in the outfield, 490 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:00,040 which is a great movie, by the way, in the late 90s. 491 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:02,720 Do yourself a favor and watch it, right? 492 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:04,120 Hashtag Danny Glover. 493 00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:06,440 Understand that, 494 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:10,320 awesome, right? 495 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:13,320 We're in awe of angels. 496 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:16,240 Well, if we believe in angels, 497 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:21,640 we also have to believe in demons. 498 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:27,360 That's literally the collective, right, 499 00:21:27,360 --> 00:21:28,880 of all of us, myself included. 500 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:30,960 1 Timothy says this, 501 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:34,240 now the spirit expressively says that in the later times, 502 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:36,800 some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves 503 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:40,200 to deceitful spirits and the teaching of demons. 504 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:45,200 Through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 505 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:48,880 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods 506 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:51,720 that God created to be receiving with thanksgiving 507 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:54,320 by those who believe and know the truth. 508 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:00,360 Aw, Pastor Jim, I was tracking with you. 509 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:01,800 I actually like angels now. 510 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:03,240 I may study it more. 511 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:06,080 But when you bring up demons, 512 00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:08,720 I don't know. 513 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:10,120 Friend, we've talked about this. 514 00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:12,640 You cannot just take the good with the good. 515 00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:14,600 You have to take the good with the bad. 516 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:17,480 That's what we look for when we're elders, right, 517 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:19,640 and we have someone that comes and professes their faith. 518 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:23,080 We wanna hear what they believe about magnifying the Lord 519 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:24,520 and making it their own, 520 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:27,400 but also about the sin in their life. 521 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:30,560 If angels, then demons. 522 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:34,200 And understand that the prince of the world 523 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:38,640 has been given the go ahead to make life better. 524 00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:40,960 Make life really, really hard. 525 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:44,440 Well, God, if I were God, 526 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:46,680 if you ever find yourself saying that, stop. 527 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:50,480 Because that wouldn't be how any of us wrote it up. 528 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:52,320 Or if we were, we'd be selfish and say, 529 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:53,160 well then the demons, 530 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:55,840 they're only gonna be for these kind of people, right? 531 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:57,720 They're only gonna be people I don't like, 532 00:22:57,720 --> 00:22:59,760 like Cubs fans or something like that, 533 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:02,960 where all of a sudden you just go and torment them, 534 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:03,800 then that'll be great. 535 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:04,840 I think Cubs fans would agree, 536 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:08,160 they were tormented for over 100 years. 537 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:12,320 So understand that where there is somebody 538 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:14,200 who is intentional, 539 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:16,760 there's the spiritual beings that are intentional, 540 00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:17,600 that are intimate, 541 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:20,360 that wanna magnify the glory of God, 542 00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:23,600 there are demons that wanna do the exact opposite. 543 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:25,680 They're going to lie, they're gonna persuade, 544 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:27,800 they're gonna oversell, under deliver, 545 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:31,600 to try to take glory from God. 546 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:33,000 I said it before, I'll say it again. 547 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,240 Satan doesn't want a relationship with you, right? 548 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:38,800 Satan doesn't wanna say, ooh, I'm best friends with. 549 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:40,920 It's not a what would Satan do culture. 550 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:43,520 What he wants, ultimately, 551 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:46,640 is for you to have that one little seed of doubt. 552 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:49,360 And guess what? 553 00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:51,480 Satan's not omnipotent. 554 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:53,680 Satan's not omnipresent. 555 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:56,400 That did me good as a, 556 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:59,600 I think I was 14 years old. 557 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:02,160 How many of you have ever seen the big passion play 558 00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:04,400 over here at the church on 45th? 559 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:05,240 Have you ever seen that? 560 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:07,280 You have the big production, they got all the animals. 561 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:10,280 I was 12, and they started this, 562 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:13,080 and don't, it's not spoiler alert, it's in the Bible. 563 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:17,120 Understand that they start with a conversation 564 00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:20,400 between Lucifer and Michael the Archangel, 565 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:22,480 which blew my mind, 566 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:25,720 because I always thought it was God and Satan, right? 567 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:28,000 That they're in the ring together. 568 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:29,440 I was so wrong. 569 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,200 There's nothing that's here but God. 570 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:34,360 And then Jesus comes out. 571 00:24:34,360 --> 00:24:37,520 But the person they had of Lucifer, 572 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:39,640 it scared me half to death, 573 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:42,360 but it taught me something. 574 00:24:42,360 --> 00:24:45,200 Lucifer can't be everywhere, right? 575 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:47,320 Lucifer cannot torment Dan, 576 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:50,080 and at the same time torment my dad. 577 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:53,520 He can't, but what can he do? 578 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:55,040 He can send his demons. 579 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:57,520 He can make sure that you're doubting, 580 00:24:57,520 --> 00:24:59,160 and then he's gonna say, 581 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:04,160 and now go after him or her. 582 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:06,200 The screw tape letters, if you guys are ever 583 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:08,040 C.S. Lewis fans, right? 584 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:10,600 It's the conversation about a demon, 585 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:12,200 and what was the demon's name? 586 00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:15,960 How Lucifer? 587 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:17,760 I'm asking because I genuinely forgot. 588 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:20,080 Wormwood, thank you. 589 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:22,880 It's all about the torment of an individual. 590 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:26,640 And you cannot read that book without saying, 591 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:29,080 oh, well demons were very intimate 592 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:31,640 about trying to ruin this guy's life. 593 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:34,240 They were very intentional about making life 594 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:35,600 really, really hard. 595 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:41,120 But they're not bearers of God, 596 00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:43,360 and they try to steal God's glory. 597 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:46,320 So let me final, I'm gonna close, 598 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:47,880 I'm gonna land the plane here. 599 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:54,280 We're not called to be an angel, right? 600 00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:57,880 We're not called to proclaim what the angels proclaim. 601 00:25:57,880 --> 00:25:59,240 We're called to proclaim Christ. 602 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:01,560 We have different jobs, though they may look the same, 603 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:05,240 we are called something different as image bearers of God. 604 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,040 But unfortunately, Christians and the church 605 00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:13,040 can do very similar harm that demons can do. 606 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:17,440 Whether it's in authority or power or whatever, 607 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:21,280 that once we make our faith about us, 608 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:24,600 you're doing the same exact thing that Lucifer did, 609 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:29,320 which got him thrown and his angels out of heaven, right? 610 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:31,960 Or fellow angels, because he was an angel as well. 611 00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:36,960 Vanity, pride, and ego is what ruined Lucifer. 612 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:41,000 Now understand, what I just described, 613 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:42,640 all of us struggle with. 614 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:48,680 And so the question I have for me first, and all of us, 615 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:52,400 are we leaning into that every day? 616 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:54,680 Or are we gonna lean into the peace 617 00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:57,360 and the identity of Christ? 618 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:00,720 Because demons don't do that. 619 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:02,600 Angels can't do that. 620 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:04,600 We are called to do that. 621 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:08,000 And so in a world where our battle 622 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:10,080 is not against flesh and blood, 623 00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:13,280 we can battle each other and a lot of it's wasted time. 624 00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:17,680 But as the Bible says, our battle is against the supernatural, 625 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:20,760 that there are supernatural forces. 626 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:22,920 And I fully expect emails from all of you 627 00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:24,520 who have kids that don't sleep tonight, 628 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:26,880 if they're listening, and we'll talk that over. 629 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:30,080 But understand, and here's the thing, 630 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:34,840 the God that goes before me, the God who stands behind, 631 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:39,760 the God of angel armies, is always by my side. 632 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:43,120 He's already won. 633 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:47,000 And what we need to do is be faithful. 634 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:49,520 We need to recognize the demonic. 635 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:52,040 And guess what, all authority on heaven and on earth 636 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:53,120 has been given to me. 637 00:27:53,120 --> 00:27:54,040 What does that mean? 638 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:57,200 You can dispel demons. 639 00:27:57,200 --> 00:28:00,600 In the name of Jesus, you can conquer demons. 640 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:03,160 Not in a egotistical way, right? 641 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:04,560 I don't want any of you to walk tall 642 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:06,400 and go, I conquered a demon today. 643 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:07,840 That's real bad, right? 644 00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:09,800 I'll rebuke you right then and there. 645 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:14,400 But understand that we can defeat demons. 646 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:15,320 Why? 647 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:19,800 Because we have the word of God. 648 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:21,840 I know some of you who've never heard that before. 649 00:28:21,840 --> 00:28:25,680 That you actually have the power to defeat the demon. 650 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:27,640 So whether it's actually just a sweater 651 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,800 on the end of your bed, you can pray over that too. 652 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:32,520 By all means, pray over that sweater, 653 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:36,440 and maybe move it so it doesn't scare you again. 654 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:38,600 But when I learned that as a teenager, 655 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:43,080 the spiritual warfare side of my faith completely changed. 656 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:44,320 That when you get those feelings, 657 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:47,200 when you think that there is some kind of heaviness 658 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:52,200 or spirit over you, you don't have to succumb to it. 659 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:54,240 You don't have to flee. 660 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:55,760 You can fight it. 661 00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:58,600 And you don't have to fight it alone. 662 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:02,320 Find one or two other people that join in you in prayer. 663 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:03,680 Maybe not at like 2.30 in the morning 664 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,040 when the sweater scares you, you can do that on your own. 665 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:11,040 But understand that there are legions of angels 666 00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:13,760 that are going to come and defeat the dragon, 667 00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:18,760 defeat the demons, all for your soul, for my soul. 668 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:23,560 And with the authority of Christ, 669 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:27,360 we can do all of these things. 670 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:31,360 Because that's what it means to be made in the image of God. 671 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:34,520 Because what if Jesus didn't say that? 672 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:37,920 What if Jesus, when he arose, just said, I'm out? 673 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:42,920 No, he made sure that the rabbi to the disciples, 674 00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:45,520 he gave us his authority. 675 00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:47,960 His authority to teach, his authority to love, 676 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:51,200 his authority to feed, his authority to walk alongside, 677 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:54,000 to do all, to love. 678 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:55,960 He gave us authority to love. 679 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:58,080 Because if he didn't, we'd mess that up. 680 00:29:58,080 --> 00:29:59,360 How do we know? 681 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:01,400 Pretty much the entire New Testament 682 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:03,800 shows how they messed that up. 683 00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:06,240 But he also gives us the authority to love. 684 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:09,520 He messed that up, but he also gives us authority 685 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:11,760 over the spiritual. 686 00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:15,720 He gives us authority over the darkness 687 00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:20,720 because he has given us the light, and we carry it in us. 688 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:21,840 Let's pray. 689 00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:34,840 Father, we give you thanks.