WEBVTT 00:00:04.809 --> 00:00:07.849 Hey friend, welcome back to The Semi -Seminarian. 00:00:07.889 --> 00:00:11.890 We have this week another installment of our 00:00:11.890 --> 00:00:14.189 Bible study series, which you're calling the 00:00:14.189 --> 00:00:16.929 Bible for Grown Ups. This week's installment 00:00:16.929 --> 00:00:21.670 has a special place in my heart. Real quickly, 00:00:21.789 --> 00:00:24.649 let me open tonight by telling you a quick story. 00:00:25.570 --> 00:00:28.710 So several years ago, I was invited to participate 00:00:28.710 --> 00:00:32.210 in a project, the Bible Project, a wonderful, 00:00:32.329 --> 00:00:37.630 wonderful Bible study resource, and I got to 00:00:37.630 --> 00:00:41.130 know the leader of that group, Dr. Tim Mackey. 00:00:41.329 --> 00:00:45.210 In my time with the Bible Project, I heard Dr. 00:00:45.289 --> 00:00:48.630 Mackey say one afternoon that angels don't have 00:00:48.630 --> 00:00:53.329 wings. There's no place in the Bible where angels 00:00:53.329 --> 00:00:56.909 have wings. I don't know if you've ever been 00:00:56.909 --> 00:00:59.530 in that position when you had a Bible teacher 00:00:59.530 --> 00:01:02.049 or perhaps a preacher say something new to be 00:01:02.049 --> 00:01:05.760 wrong. So you went home after hearing that and 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:08.040 you searched the Bible for yourself and you found 00:01:08.040 --> 00:01:12.180 out my goodness They were right and I was wrong 00:01:12.180 --> 00:01:16.200 That led me to thinking about a whole bunch of 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:19.519 things we think about the Bible that aren't even 00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:24.500 in there Let me give you another example Cain 00:01:24.500 --> 00:01:26.980 killed Abel with a rock you were probably taught 00:01:26.980 --> 00:01:31.680 that maybe there's a kids VVS song about it Bible 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:38.700 doesn't say that Eve fed Adam an apple. Bible 00:01:38.700 --> 00:01:42.219 doesn't say it was an apple. I know these are 00:01:42.219 --> 00:01:45.859 little bitty things. They're insignificant. But 00:01:45.859 --> 00:01:48.579 they're endemic of something I think is more 00:01:48.579 --> 00:01:53.180 important. That so often we just take this guidebook 00:01:53.180 --> 00:01:56.019 that we have been given inspired by the Holy 00:01:56.019 --> 00:02:00.310 Spirit. and created by humans in cooperation 00:02:00.310 --> 00:02:02.849 with the Holy Spirit in which we've seen God 00:02:02.849 --> 00:02:06.829 break through in the world. And we've just taken 00:02:06.829 --> 00:02:09.849 it for granted. We allow ourselves just to have 00:02:09.849 --> 00:02:13.650 this childish understanding of very important 00:02:13.650 --> 00:02:18.430 matters. Tonight's episode, we deal with just 00:02:18.430 --> 00:02:22.289 such a situation when we confront just exactly 00:02:22.289 --> 00:02:24.949 what it is that angels are, who they are, what 00:02:24.949 --> 00:02:29.090 they are. And we come to realize one and very 00:02:29.090 --> 00:02:35.569 important fact, friends, angels do not have wings. 00:02:37.090 --> 00:02:45.330 Let's listen. Okay buddies, it's six o 'clock 00:02:45.330 --> 00:02:49.189 and I want to make sure I've got the entire hour 00:02:49.189 --> 00:02:52.120 to work with. Again, I'm not sure exactly. How 00:02:52.120 --> 00:02:53.759 much I've got here, it might be a little bit 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:56.620 short. If it is, hooray. If not, well, then we're 00:02:56.620 --> 00:03:00.159 gonna get, we'll keep it close to time. So tonight, 00:03:00.259 --> 00:03:05.419 we're looking at the subject of the study of 00:03:05.419 --> 00:03:12.240 spiritual beings within the apotheos. What? We're 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:15.280 looking at spiritual beings within the divine 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:20.620 realm of heaven. The study, the thought of that. 00:03:21.229 --> 00:03:25.409 That subject matter is called angel ology angel 00:03:25.409 --> 00:03:31.389 ology It will refer to all spiritual beings In 00:03:31.389 --> 00:03:34.490 the heavenly realm the angels of which are a 00:03:34.490 --> 00:03:40.550 part but not all spiritual Beings in the divine 00:03:40.550 --> 00:03:45.530 realm are angels There's actually other types 00:03:45.530 --> 00:03:49.469 of beings with other functions. We serve God 00:03:49.469 --> 00:03:54.509 in different ways Okay Now tonight's topic is 00:03:54.509 --> 00:03:56.830 called angels don't have wings. We're going to 00:03:56.830 --> 00:03:59.129 talk about angels tonight We're not going to 00:03:59.129 --> 00:04:02.930 necessarily talk about these other classes Spiritually 00:04:02.930 --> 00:04:05.270 spiritual beings which is going to focus on angels, 00:04:05.430 --> 00:04:07.889 but as I begin talking about angels I'm going 00:04:07.889 --> 00:04:11.909 to begin by talking about those beings that you 00:04:11.909 --> 00:04:14.509 think are angels, but aren't in actually angels 00:04:14.509 --> 00:04:17.350 Okay, the first one the first group. I'd like 00:04:17.350 --> 00:04:21.209 to talk about is called the cherubim The cherubim 00:04:21.209 --> 00:04:25.569 we find here in the first triad, very near the 00:04:25.569 --> 00:04:28.970 top of the heavenly host, very close proximity 00:04:28.970 --> 00:04:32.329 to God. They are the most frequently occurring 00:04:32.329 --> 00:04:35.029 heavenly creature in the Hebrew Bible. In the 00:04:35.029 --> 00:04:38.889 Hebrew Bible, the word cherubim appears 91 times. 00:04:39.910 --> 00:04:42.769 First inference is in the book of Genesis 3 and 00:04:42.769 --> 00:04:47.430 24. Despite many references, the role of cherubim 00:04:47.610 --> 00:04:52.029 within the heavenly realms isn't clearly given. 00:04:53.370 --> 00:04:55.629 Well, Hebrew tradition must have conceived of 00:04:55.629 --> 00:04:58.589 the cherubim at least as the guardians of the 00:04:58.589 --> 00:05:01.750 Garden of Eden, because after the fall and after 00:05:01.750 --> 00:05:07.670 the expulsion of Adam and Eve, as well as Cain, 00:05:09.189 --> 00:05:12.790 a cherub is placed to guard the Garden of Eden, 00:05:13.170 --> 00:05:16.329 in essence, guarding the way to the Tree of Life. 00:05:16.620 --> 00:05:19.579 They've also depicted as performing other roles. 00:05:19.899 --> 00:05:24.019 In the book of Ezekiel, they are the transporters 00:05:24.019 --> 00:05:27.579 of Yahweh's throne. So as God's throne flies 00:05:27.579 --> 00:05:30.079 around, they're the ones that fly it around. 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:33.199 The cherub also appear in the Song of David, 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:35.839 a poem which occurs twice in the Hebrew Bible, 00:05:35.899 --> 00:05:40.519 both in 2 Samuel 22 and the Psalm 18. And they 00:05:40.519 --> 00:05:44.360 participate, these guys, right? They have four 00:05:44.360 --> 00:05:48.290 wings. They participate in something that are 00:05:48.290 --> 00:05:50.589 called theophanies. That's when God shows up 00:05:50.589 --> 00:05:54.250 on the earth. Fancy word for when people see, 00:05:54.250 --> 00:05:56.949 they think they see God, like the actual God. 00:05:57.449 --> 00:06:02.269 These guys are around. And whenever God shows 00:06:02.269 --> 00:06:07.389 up in people's visions, these act as the vehicle 00:06:07.389 --> 00:06:10.509 upon which the deity descends to the earth from 00:06:10.509 --> 00:06:14.879 heaven in order to rescue the speaker. We'll 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:17.519 find that in 2 Samuel 22, as well as Psalm 18. 00:06:18.300 --> 00:06:21.959 In Exodus 25, God tells Moses to make multiple 00:06:21.959 --> 00:06:25.160 images of cherubim, specific points around the 00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:27.279 Ark of the Covenant. Many appearances of the 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:31.399 word cherub and cherubim refer to the golden 00:06:31.399 --> 00:06:34.759 cherub images on the mercy seat of the Ark. If 00:06:34.759 --> 00:06:36.980 you know anything about the Bible, the Israelites 00:06:36.980 --> 00:06:41.779 had this very important golden box. Okay, and 00:06:41.779 --> 00:06:48.939 the they believe that God's his manifest Essence 00:06:48.939 --> 00:06:53.040 it was the place where God physically dwelt on 00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:56.680 the earth and and to be specific about where 00:06:56.680 --> 00:07:02.279 he dealt dwelt on the earth the box had two angels 00:07:02.279 --> 00:07:09.720 two two cherubs with their wings extended forward 00:07:09.720 --> 00:07:12.860 to almost a point where one on one side and the 00:07:12.860 --> 00:07:16.379 other on the other and their wings almost touch. 00:07:17.500 --> 00:07:20.279 In that space, that's called the mercy seat. 00:07:21.220 --> 00:07:25.240 In that space is where God is said to have physically 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:30.819 manifested when on the earth, okay? In Isaiah 00:07:30.819 --> 00:07:34.329 37 and one, Hezekiah prays addressing God. as 00:07:34.329 --> 00:07:37.110 somebody who's enthroned above the cherubim, 00:07:37.389 --> 00:07:41.930 or one who dwells among the cherubim, God. So 00:07:41.930 --> 00:07:44.509 why I'm telling you this is the place where cherubim 00:07:44.509 --> 00:07:49.689 hang out is in direct relationship to God. They 00:07:49.689 --> 00:07:53.250 are very close. Often they are the vehicle of 00:07:53.250 --> 00:07:58.550 the throne of God. Cherubim are also featured 00:07:58.550 --> 00:08:01.920 at some length in the book of Ezekiel. When they 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:04.319 first appear in chapter one, they are transporting 00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:08.379 the throne of God across the river Kabar. They're 00:08:08.379 --> 00:08:11.139 not called cherubim, however, until the 10th 00:08:11.139 --> 00:08:13.819 chapter. In Ezekiel 1, 5, and 11, they're described. 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:17.160 Okay, so let me describe what one of these cherubim 00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:22.560 look like. They have the likeness of a man and 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:25.300 having four faces. So it looks like a man, but 00:08:25.300 --> 00:08:28.970 it's got four faces. One of a man, a lion. on 00:08:28.970 --> 00:08:31.870 the right side, an ox on the left side, and an 00:08:31.870 --> 00:08:34.990 eagle. The four faces represent the four domains 00:08:34.990 --> 00:08:38.070 of God's rule. Man represents humanity, the lion 00:08:38.070 --> 00:08:40.330 represents the wild animals, the ox domestic 00:08:40.330 --> 00:08:43.330 animals, and the eagles, the birds. These faces 00:08:43.330 --> 00:08:47.649 peer out from a center of an array of four wings. 00:08:48.269 --> 00:08:51.149 These wings are joined to each other. Two of 00:08:51.149 --> 00:08:53.049 these are stretched upward and the other two 00:08:53.049 --> 00:08:56.000 cover their bodies. Under the wings are human 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:58.500 hands their legs are described as straight their 00:08:58.500 --> 00:09:01.679 feet of a calf shining like polished brass Between 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:03.860 the creatures glowing coals that move between 00:09:03.860 --> 00:09:06.740 them could be seen and their fire went up and 00:09:06.740 --> 00:09:10.419 down lightning burst forth from them the cherubs 00:09:10.419 --> 00:09:16.320 also move like flashes of lightning Okay Somebody's 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:19.120 on a trip. This is crazy sounding talk right 00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:23.600 crazy Animals that have wings they have four 00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:30.730 of them Okay Let me move on now to seraphim Seraphim 00:09:30.730 --> 00:09:33.830 are right up here at the top seraphim have six 00:09:33.830 --> 00:09:40.610 wings we most Famously we learn about the seraphim 00:09:40.610 --> 00:09:43.090 in the book of Isaiah chapter 6 verses 1 through 00:09:43.090 --> 00:09:44.809 8 many of you have read that even if you don't 00:09:44.809 --> 00:09:47.750 remember what those verses are but in those verses 00:09:47.750 --> 00:09:51.409 Isaiah describes a sixth wing being that flies 00:09:51.409 --> 00:09:54.250 around the holy I'm sorry flies around the throne 00:09:54.250 --> 00:09:58.169 of God singing holy holy holy is the Lord holy 00:09:58.169 --> 00:10:04.289 holy holy is the Lord okay that's their job this 00:10:04.289 --> 00:10:08.120 throne scene with its triple invocation of God's 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:12.440 holiness profoundly ends up influencing both 00:10:12.440 --> 00:10:15.940 theology as well as literature and art. It's 00:10:15.940 --> 00:10:19.799 this influence that we frequently see angels 00:10:19.799 --> 00:10:24.700 being depicted as having wings. It's this particular 00:10:24.700 --> 00:10:28.600 story where we in art and literature get this 00:10:28.600 --> 00:10:34.289 idea that angels are winged beings. But seraphim 00:10:34.289 --> 00:10:39.649 are not angels. Seraphim are seraphim. They're 00:10:39.649 --> 00:10:42.669 a completely different spiritual being with a 00:10:42.669 --> 00:10:46.710 completely different purpose for God. Okay? So, 00:10:48.029 --> 00:10:50.669 when we look at spiritual beings in the Bible, 00:10:51.889 --> 00:10:54.169 and we look at every instance in which these 00:10:54.169 --> 00:10:56.570 beings are mentioned and how they're described, 00:10:57.110 --> 00:11:00.730 we find seraphim are described as winged beings. 00:11:01.990 --> 00:11:06.190 Cherubim. are defined as winged beings. But these 00:11:06.190 --> 00:11:10.509 guys down here, the angels, not one time are 00:11:10.509 --> 00:11:13.789 they ever described as having wings, okay? What 00:11:13.789 --> 00:11:18.110 are you talking about? Today I'd like to look 00:11:18.110 --> 00:11:21.179 at God's spiritual beings. Known as angels because 00:11:21.179 --> 00:11:23.759 truthfully so many people just don't understand 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:27.720 what roles Angels play in the spirit world and 00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:30.279 our lives as well as a matter of fact a lot of 00:11:30.279 --> 00:11:33.299 people just have a very common misunderstanding 00:11:33.299 --> 00:11:36.460 About what angels are and what they're supposed 00:11:36.460 --> 00:11:39.539 to do because often we gain that understanding 00:11:39.539 --> 00:11:43.639 for public popular culture television shows Movies 00:11:43.639 --> 00:11:45.480 right for example, how many of you seen touched 00:11:45.480 --> 00:11:48.029 by the ain't by an angel? Touched by an angel 00:11:48.029 --> 00:11:50.669 right very heartwarming show which leads most 00:11:50.669 --> 00:11:54.250 people to believe that right Angels are British 00:11:54.250 --> 00:11:57.809 women with British accents Right another show 00:11:57.809 --> 00:12:00.730 angel a movie angels in the outfield angels in 00:12:00.730 --> 00:12:02.850 the outfield, right? And then there's probably 00:12:02.850 --> 00:12:05.110 the most theologically correct of all movies 00:12:05.110 --> 00:12:07.830 about angels. I mean it biblically. It's just 00:12:07.830 --> 00:12:11.450 spot -on It's a movie called Michael the one 00:12:11.450 --> 00:12:14.389 with John Travolta the beer drinking angel who 00:12:14.389 --> 00:12:18.879 wears wife beaters, right? Not biblically accurate. 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:23.980 A complete joke about that, right? But a favorite 00:12:23.980 --> 00:12:28.919 Christmastime movie. Shows like four bazillion 00:12:28.919 --> 00:12:32.200 times every Christmas season, every year, right? 00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:36.000 It's a Wonderful Life. And if you love It's a 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:38.500 Wonderful Life, you know probably what I'm about 00:12:38.500 --> 00:12:41.820 to do. What did this movie teach us about angels? 00:12:42.600 --> 00:12:45.460 Angels, there's at least At least there's one 00:12:45.460 --> 00:12:48.419 named angel in the movie that's named Clarence. 00:12:48.620 --> 00:12:51.299 You guys remember? Right? And we learned from 00:12:51.299 --> 00:12:54.120 Clarence that every time a bell rings, what happens? 00:12:55.879 --> 00:12:59.559 Angels don't have wings! See what I'm saying? 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:06.779 A lot of people get this idea about angels from 00:13:06.779 --> 00:13:11.740 movies. Not from scripture. Right some people 00:13:11.740 --> 00:13:14.360 some people you may have even at one time got 00:13:14.360 --> 00:13:16.799 a card that has like a little naked bald -headed 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:20.960 baby angel Playing a harp on a cloud So some 00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:24.080 people think that angels are little naked babies 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:27.159 right with no hair Playing harps on clouds with 00:13:27.159 --> 00:13:29.860 truthfully all it is is a naked baby with no 00:13:29.860 --> 00:13:33.120 hair playing a harp on a cloud It's not an angel 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:36.860 All right, that's not what angels are like And 00:13:36.860 --> 00:13:38.919 I'll explain why here in just a moment. Some 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:41.820 people believe this is rather common. Stick with 00:13:41.820 --> 00:13:43.519 me till the end, guys. Remember, this is called 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:47.279 the Bible for grownups. So I might dispel some 00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:49.759 rumors and some misunderstandings about what 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:52.259 you think about your life. And it might hurt 00:13:52.259 --> 00:13:53.919 your feelings a little bit. Might like be finding 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:56.159 out about the tooth fairy or something, right? 00:13:56.159 --> 00:13:58.860 But listen, I need you guys to hear this, right? 00:13:58.919 --> 00:14:01.700 Some people believe that like whenever, it's 00:14:01.700 --> 00:14:03.679 very common. When one of your relatives dies, 00:14:04.250 --> 00:14:06.289 Right that they go to heaven and they become 00:14:06.289 --> 00:14:10.070 your guardian angel Right a lot of people believe 00:14:10.070 --> 00:14:13.850 that So if your grandma passes away some people 00:14:13.850 --> 00:14:16.789 say well grandma's watching over me I just want 00:14:16.789 --> 00:14:19.110 to say I don't know about you, but there are 00:14:19.110 --> 00:14:21.049 times in my life when I don't want grandma watching 00:14:21.049 --> 00:14:26.409 over me Just some things are right right thankfully 00:14:26.409 --> 00:14:30.330 friends thankfully that that's not true Grandma 00:14:30.330 --> 00:14:33.950 does not become an angel and she's not your guardian 00:14:33.950 --> 00:14:38.529 angel as well. Sorry. We need to understand, 00:14:38.970 --> 00:14:43.669 according to scripture, angels are God's servants. 00:14:44.330 --> 00:14:47.129 They're supernatural beings that are created 00:14:47.129 --> 00:14:53.350 by God, for God, for God's glory. They do the 00:14:53.350 --> 00:14:56.250 exact bidding and work of God. Now what's amazing 00:14:56.250 --> 00:15:00.370 to me is that so many spiritual beings, right, 00:15:01.009 --> 00:15:04.210 or so many of these spiritual beings that we 00:15:04.210 --> 00:15:07.330 talk about, angels, some of them were so fierce 00:15:07.330 --> 00:15:11.049 that they could kill 100 ,000 people in an instant 00:15:11.049 --> 00:15:13.990 and yet they're so gentle they can protect one 00:15:13.990 --> 00:15:18.129 infant child. Angels are messengers, that's what 00:15:18.129 --> 00:15:21.769 the word means. Angel means messenger, that's 00:15:21.769 --> 00:15:25.169 all it means, messenger. They are the messengers 00:15:25.169 --> 00:15:28.549 and they are spiritual beings of God. Now what's 00:15:28.549 --> 00:15:31.250 very interesting to me is that although very 00:15:31.250 --> 00:15:33.230 likely that there are angels all over the place 00:15:33.230 --> 00:15:36.009 right now Right here right here right but in 00:15:36.009 --> 00:15:38.950 the spirit world Right most likely there are 00:15:38.950 --> 00:15:41.990 angels all around us But what's hard I think 00:15:41.990 --> 00:15:44.490 for our finite minds to grasp but there are times 00:15:44.490 --> 00:15:47.769 when angels actually show up looking like human 00:15:47.769 --> 00:15:51.970 beings And admittedly that's a little bit far 00:15:51.970 --> 00:15:55.019 out to me. It's kind of crazy But when you look 00:15:55.019 --> 00:15:57.960 at examples, there are tons of examples of this 00:15:57.960 --> 00:16:00.379 in fact in back -to -back chapters in the Bible 00:16:00.379 --> 00:16:03.940 Genesis 18 and 19 Genesis 18 Abraham's just hanging 00:16:03.940 --> 00:16:06.980 out by the by a tree one day right and three 00:16:06.980 --> 00:16:10.620 guys show up and Abraham was like, oh, hey, come 00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:13.379 on over here He goes into the tit -sera make 00:16:13.379 --> 00:16:15.799 some of your famous bread, you know Come you 00:16:15.799 --> 00:16:18.279 guys come and sit down and hang out with us, 00:16:18.500 --> 00:16:22.899 right and and and he can't even realize Who or 00:16:22.899 --> 00:16:26.220 what it is in front of them and then the very 00:16:26.220 --> 00:16:29.200 next chapter something similar happens lot in 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:36.120 the city of Sodom Sitting out by the gate Right. 00:16:36.460 --> 00:16:38.720 He said hey, what are you guys doing? They've 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:40.559 got no place to stay. We're just gonna divide 00:16:40.559 --> 00:16:43.220 them stay at our place Hey, you guys come stay 00:16:43.220 --> 00:16:45.399 with me. I'll take care of you guys for night 00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:48.929 for the night and lot didn't realize that right 00:16:48.929 --> 00:16:52.009 in front of him were two angels sent from God. 00:16:52.710 --> 00:16:55.809 In fact, the letter to the Hebrews in the 13th 00:16:55.809 --> 00:16:58.990 chapter says this very specifically in verse 00:16:58.990 --> 00:17:05.269 two. Here's what scripture says. The Bible says, 00:17:05.470 --> 00:17:08.309 do not forget to entertain strangers for doing 00:17:08.309 --> 00:17:12.650 so, for in doing so, some people have actually 00:17:12.650 --> 00:17:18.220 entertained angels without even knowing it. Right. 00:17:18.380 --> 00:17:21.720 What are angels to answer? What are angels? Let's 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:25.640 first answer the question Who exactly are angels? 00:17:26.599 --> 00:17:29.559 Right angels are spiritual beings created by 00:17:29.559 --> 00:17:33.700 God and for God Who are angels angels are basically 00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:36.240 three things in your notes there, right? The 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:41.839 first is angels are worshipers Okay, whenever 00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:44.480 you find God or Jesus, you will always find angels 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:47.539 worshipping God or Jesus In fact the scripture 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:49.480 says this again going back to the letter to the 00:17:49.480 --> 00:17:52.160 Hebrews in the first chapter this time in the 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:55.059 sixth verse of Hebrews The writer says and then 00:17:55.059 --> 00:17:57.579 when God presented his honored son to the world 00:17:57.579 --> 00:18:02.119 God said let all of the angels of God Worship 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:05.920 him What are these angels do they worship God? 00:18:06.059 --> 00:18:10.299 It's what they do. They worship Jesus Fact scripture 00:18:10.299 --> 00:18:15.460 says this revelations 5 11 12 and 13 John on 00:18:15.460 --> 00:18:17.960 Patmos says then I looked and I heard the voice 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:20.839 of many angels numbering thousands upon thousands 00:18:20.839 --> 00:18:25.059 and ten thousand upon ten thousands They encircled 00:18:25.059 --> 00:18:27.839 the throne and in a large loud loud voice They 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:30.660 sang worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive 00:18:30.660 --> 00:18:32.940 power and wealth and wisdom and strength and 00:18:32.940 --> 00:18:37.579 honor and glory and praise angels friends are 00:18:37.579 --> 00:18:41.160 worshipers Second thing, you know it's there, 00:18:41.799 --> 00:18:45.779 angels are also warriors. They're fierce warriors 00:18:45.779 --> 00:18:49.299 who do battle on behalf of God. Okay, this is 00:18:49.299 --> 00:18:51.039 the longest portion of scripture we had tonight, 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:53.579 but I wanted to read this portion from Daniel 00:18:53.579 --> 00:18:58.259 chapter 10, because it's fairly long conversation 00:18:58.259 --> 00:19:03.160 between Daniel, a man, and this angel, plus there's 00:19:03.160 --> 00:19:05.259 another little preacher teaching point I wanna 00:19:05.259 --> 00:19:09.089 pull out here, right? Daniel's praying to an 00:19:09.089 --> 00:19:13.190 angel. 21 days later, the angel shows up, says, 00:19:13.269 --> 00:19:16.309 I've been trying to get here, but I've been doing 00:19:16.309 --> 00:19:18.089 battle against the Prince of Persia. That's what 00:19:18.089 --> 00:19:22.069 the angel tells him. Finally, Michael, the archangel, 00:19:22.329 --> 00:19:24.789 Michael's kind of the chief of all of the angels, 00:19:25.250 --> 00:19:28.109 he shows up and he's handling the prince so I 00:19:28.109 --> 00:19:30.849 can come and talk to you, Daniel. Let's read 00:19:30.849 --> 00:19:33.650 that story. Daniel chapter 10, beginning with 00:19:33.650 --> 00:19:36.930 one. In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, 00:19:37.089 --> 00:19:38.670 a revelation was given to Daniel who was called 00:19:38.670 --> 00:19:41.470 Belted Azar. Its message was true and it concerned 00:19:41.470 --> 00:19:43.769 a great war. The understanding of the message 00:19:43.769 --> 00:19:47.349 came to him in a vision. At that time, I, Daniel, 00:19:47.609 --> 00:19:49.769 mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food, 00:19:49.829 --> 00:19:53.029 no meat or wine touched my lips, and I used no 00:19:53.029 --> 00:19:55.869 lotions until the three weeks were over. On the 00:19:55.869 --> 00:19:58.849 24th day of the first month, as I was standing 00:19:58.849 --> 00:20:01.289 on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I 00:20:01.289 --> 00:20:04.890 looked up and there before me, Right was a guy 00:20:04.890 --> 00:20:08.890 with wing day. No a man Dressed in linen with 00:20:08.890 --> 00:20:11.910 a belt of fine gold from a pass around his waist 00:20:11.910 --> 00:20:14.369 his body was like topaz his face like lightning 00:20:14.369 --> 00:20:17.430 his eyes like flaming torches his arms and legs 00:20:17.430 --> 00:20:20.150 were like the gleam of burnished bronze and his 00:20:20.150 --> 00:20:23.750 voice like the sound of a multitude a Daniel 00:20:23.750 --> 00:20:26.599 was the only one who saw this vision Those who 00:20:26.599 --> 00:20:30.259 were with me did not see it but such terror overwhelmed 00:20:30.259 --> 00:20:32.900 them that they fled and hid themselves I think 00:20:32.900 --> 00:20:35.799 that's pretty cool Right, so I was left alone 00:20:35.799 --> 00:20:38.359 gazing at this great vision. I had no strength 00:20:38.359 --> 00:20:41.839 left My face turned deathly pale and I was helpless 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:44.880 Then I heard him speaking and I listened to him. 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:47.759 I fell into a deep sleep my face to the ground 00:20:48.109 --> 00:20:50.690 A hand touched me and sent me trembling on my 00:20:50.690 --> 00:20:53.890 hands and knees. Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, 00:20:54.170 --> 00:20:55.970 consider carefully the words I'm about to speak 00:20:55.970 --> 00:20:58.990 to you and stand up, for I have now been sent 00:20:58.990 --> 00:21:01.329 to you. And whenever he said this to me, I stood 00:21:01.329 --> 00:21:04.849 up trembling. Then he continued, and friends, 00:21:05.049 --> 00:21:06.990 whenever angels show up on the scene, you are 00:21:06.990 --> 00:21:10.240 gonna hear these words. and time and time and 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:12.900 time again through the Bible. And it's not just 00:21:12.900 --> 00:21:16.059 because it's something fun to say, it's because 00:21:16.059 --> 00:21:19.019 something that the angels have to address every 00:21:19.019 --> 00:21:21.880 time an angel shows up to a human. And what are 00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:26.680 those words? Do not be afraid. Fear not. You 00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:30.440 should, I get it. I should scare you to death. 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:36.619 I am an angel. Fear not. Right? Right. But here 00:21:36.619 --> 00:21:38.000 it is. Here it is. We're gonna stop we're gonna 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:39.440 continue But I'm gonna stop on this but this 00:21:39.440 --> 00:21:40.920 is I want you guys to listen to the sentence 00:21:40.920 --> 00:21:43.559 Since the first day that you set your mind to 00:21:43.559 --> 00:21:46.759 gain understanding and to humble you humble yourself 00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:50.000 before God Your words were heard and I have come 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:53.099 in response to them. How long had he been praying? 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:59.099 21 days Right The angel comes to him after that 00:21:59.099 --> 00:22:04.259 time and says since the how long since the first 00:22:04.259 --> 00:22:07.519 day As you set your mind to gain understanding 00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:10.740 and to humble yourself before your God, your 00:22:10.740 --> 00:22:13.200 words were heard and I have come in response 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:16.559 to them. Friends, how many times do you pray 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:19.700 and nothing happens and then you just stop praying? 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:23.599 Because what you don't see is that from the very 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:26.319 first day that you started praying whatever that 00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:29.200 thing is that you were praying, your words were 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:33.099 heard by God. But it might take 21 days for the 00:22:33.099 --> 00:22:35.799 angel to show up, right? But it ain't your timing. 00:22:35.980 --> 00:22:38.839 It's God's timing. From the very first time you 00:22:38.839 --> 00:22:42.660 make that request to God, your words have been 00:22:42.660 --> 00:22:46.799 heard. But sometimes you got to go whoop up on 00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:48.599 the Prince of Persia before he could come and 00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:53.720 help you out. So be patient, right? But the Prince 00:22:53.720 --> 00:22:57.859 of the Persian kingdom resisted me 21 days. Then 00:22:57.859 --> 00:23:00.099 Michael one of the chief princes came to help 00:23:00.099 --> 00:23:03.200 me because I was detained there the king of Persia 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:05.740 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen 00:23:05.740 --> 00:23:07.900 to your people in the future For the visions 00:23:07.900 --> 00:23:11.220 concern a time yet to come while he was saying 00:23:11.220 --> 00:23:14.200 to this this I bowed my face toward the ground 00:23:14.200 --> 00:23:17.720 and was speechless Then one who then the one 00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:22.529 who looked like a man touched my lips And I opened 00:23:22.529 --> 00:23:25.130 my mouth and I began to speak. I said to the 00:23:25.130 --> 00:23:27.789 one standing before me, I'm overcome with anguish 00:23:27.789 --> 00:23:29.970 because of the vision, my Lord, and I feel very 00:23:29.970 --> 00:23:33.849 weak. How can I, your servant, talk with you, 00:23:33.849 --> 00:23:40.250 Lord? Right? He says, my strength is gone and 00:23:40.250 --> 00:23:43.910 I can hardly breathe. He is confronting himself. 00:23:44.390 --> 00:23:46.250 The power of the spiritual being in front of 00:23:46.250 --> 00:23:50.549 him. Again, the one who looked like a man touched 00:23:50.549 --> 00:23:56.210 me. gave me strength and then says what Do not 00:23:56.210 --> 00:24:01.609 be afraid Right you who are highly esteemed Peace 00:24:01.609 --> 00:24:05.589 be strong now be strong When he spoke to me, 00:24:05.630 --> 00:24:08.210 I was strengthened and said speak my Lord said 00:24:08.210 --> 00:24:11.400 you've given me strength So he said, do you know 00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:15.119 why I've come to you? Soon I will return to fight 00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:16.759 against the Prince of Persia, and when I go, 00:24:16.819 --> 00:24:18.779 the Prince of Greece will come, but first I will 00:24:18.779 --> 00:24:20.539 tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. 00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:24.559 And this is how the prophecy of Daniel begins, 00:24:25.160 --> 00:24:29.019 right? With a conversation with a being that 00:24:29.019 --> 00:24:33.160 he describes as a man, who two different times 00:24:33.160 --> 00:24:36.579 has to tell him, chill out, it's okay, I'm not 00:24:36.579 --> 00:24:39.619 gonna burn you down. First Chronicles chapter 00:24:39.619 --> 00:24:42.500 21 shows the time when King David looked up and 00:24:42.500 --> 00:24:45.000 saw suspended between heaven and earth a mighty 00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:48.319 angel with his sword drawn over Jerusalem God 00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:50.079 said I want to have compassion on them and he 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:52.200 said to the angel put away your sword and the 00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:57.440 king obeyed angels are warriors See an incredible 00:24:57.440 --> 00:25:01.359 example of this in second Kings 19 and 35 That 00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:03.559 night the angel of the Lord went out and put 00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:09.740 to death how many people? 185 ,000 men in the 00:25:09.740 --> 00:25:12.960 Assyrian camp on behalf of God, of God Almighty. 00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:18.460 The warring angel put to death 185 ,000 men. 00:25:19.220 --> 00:25:23.000 Angels are warriors of God. Scripture says this 00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:27.420 again in the revelation of John of Patmos, the 00:25:27.420 --> 00:25:31.299 12th chapter and 7th verse of that revelation, 00:25:31.460 --> 00:25:35.730 and there was a war in heaven. Michael and his 00:25:35.730 --> 00:25:38.029 angels, what do they do? They fought against 00:25:38.029 --> 00:25:40.150 the dragon. And the dragon and his angels, what 00:25:40.150 --> 00:25:43.210 do they do? They fought back. Why? Because angels 00:25:43.210 --> 00:25:47.529 were created by God and for God. They are worshipers 00:25:47.529 --> 00:25:51.950 and they are warriors. Number three, if you're 00:25:51.950 --> 00:25:54.470 taking notes, angels are also, and this is where 00:25:54.470 --> 00:25:58.259 you get the name, are also messengers. Over and 00:25:58.259 --> 00:26:00.759 over and over and over and over again in scripture 00:26:00.759 --> 00:26:04.559 whenever you see an angel show up They come with 00:26:04.559 --> 00:26:09.740 a message from God for God's people That's what 00:26:09.740 --> 00:26:13.920 angels do They come from God with a message for 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:17.539 God's people great example of this very uplifting 00:26:17.539 --> 00:26:20.859 example of this story in the Old Testament Hebrew 00:26:20.859 --> 00:26:26.980 scripture book of Judges And one of these judges, 00:26:27.180 --> 00:26:29.079 a guy named Gideon, was afraid. He was scared 00:26:29.079 --> 00:26:31.099 to death of this group of people called the Midianites, 00:26:31.160 --> 00:26:33.119 right? Because the Midianites, there's a lot 00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:35.759 more of them than there were of Gideon's people, 00:26:36.099 --> 00:26:39.819 and they were looking to beat him up. And Gideon's 00:26:39.819 --> 00:26:44.519 actually hiding out. He's on the run from the 00:26:44.519 --> 00:26:48.539 Midianites. Scripture says in Judges 6 and 12, 00:26:48.579 --> 00:26:50.920 when the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, 00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:53.200 he said, the Lord is with you, mighty warrior. 00:26:54.069 --> 00:26:57.329 What happens? An angel of God shows up to Gideon 00:26:57.329 --> 00:27:02.250 to give him this message. From God to God's people, 00:27:02.410 --> 00:27:06.329 God is with you. You can win this battle because 00:27:06.329 --> 00:27:09.289 the Lord is with you. Gideon, you are a mighty 00:27:09.289 --> 00:27:13.589 warrior. Jumping to the New Testament, the Gospel 00:27:13.589 --> 00:27:16.170 account according to the physician Luke. The 00:27:16.170 --> 00:27:19.490 first chapter of the physician's Gospel account 00:27:19.490 --> 00:27:23.069 in 30 and 31 shows one of the most famous messages. 00:27:23.319 --> 00:27:26.539 from an angel one that if you've lived through 00:27:26.539 --> 00:27:29.099 one christmas in church you've probably heard 00:27:29.099 --> 00:27:33.079 right angel shows up to a teenage virgin girl 00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:36.859 with this particular message the angel said to 00:27:36.859 --> 00:27:41.359 her do not be afraid do not be afraid mary you 00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:44.180 have found favor with god you'll be with child 00:27:44.180 --> 00:27:45.839 and give birth to a son and you were to give 00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:48.579 him the name jesus the angel of the lord appeared 00:27:48.579 --> 00:27:52.180 right with the greatest news for god's people 00:27:52.180 --> 00:27:55.359 ever the virgin will be a child, his name will 00:27:55.359 --> 00:27:58.500 be Jesus, and he will be the savior of the world. 00:27:59.400 --> 00:28:03.079 Who are angels? Angels are worshipers, angels 00:28:03.079 --> 00:28:07.119 are warriors, and angels are messengers. So now 00:28:07.119 --> 00:28:08.880 that we've looked at the question who are angels, 00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:12.579 now let's try to deal briefly with what exactly 00:28:12.579 --> 00:28:16.519 do angels do? Because they do so much, but we're 00:28:16.519 --> 00:28:18.640 gonna look briefly tonight at just three things. 00:28:19.039 --> 00:28:22.019 I tried to really take, guys, I really tried 00:28:22.019 --> 00:28:25.380 to make this all of the story of angels into 00:28:25.380 --> 00:28:29.839 like one, two, three, one, two, three. I am oversimplifying 00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:33.480 a lot about angels. I'm just trying to get us 00:28:33.480 --> 00:28:37.079 to get a basic understanding of the spiritual 00:28:37.079 --> 00:28:39.099 world, which I believe is a reality in which 00:28:39.099 --> 00:28:42.039 we live. Okay. We're going to look at the other 00:28:42.039 --> 00:28:44.880 side next week. Next week, we're going to look 00:28:44.880 --> 00:28:49.599 at this character called Hasatan. Hasatan, the 00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:53.720 accuser. The one you think of as the devil. We're 00:28:53.720 --> 00:28:55.660 gonna talk about that and demons. That'll be 00:28:55.660 --> 00:28:59.160 next week. So that's right. So we've got the 00:28:59.160 --> 00:29:01.880 angel food cake this week, next week, devil's 00:29:01.880 --> 00:29:06.440 food cake, okay? So let me deal briefly with 00:29:06.440 --> 00:29:09.140 this question. What exactly do angels do? Because 00:29:09.140 --> 00:29:11.740 they do a lot, right? Number one, angels often 00:29:11.740 --> 00:29:14.519 give us direction. If you're like me, you are 00:29:14.519 --> 00:29:16.359 directionally challenged, right? I can get lost 00:29:16.359 --> 00:29:19.480 just going to the bathroom in my own house. Right? 00:29:19.720 --> 00:29:21.359 Angels come and guide us, give us direction. 00:29:21.599 --> 00:29:23.680 For example, we looked at the story of the little 00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:25.940 teenage girl, Mary. Right? We all know that story. 00:29:26.420 --> 00:29:28.640 We found out she would be pregnant, not by her 00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:31.079 husband, Joseph, but by the Holy Spirit. Right? 00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:33.900 Her fiance, Joseph, you can only imagine what 00:29:33.900 --> 00:29:36.519 Joseph's response might have been whenever he 00:29:36.519 --> 00:29:38.700 comes in and says, guess what? I'm going to be 00:29:38.700 --> 00:29:44.140 a mama. Right? And Joseph was like, um, but I 00:29:44.140 --> 00:29:49.430 wasn't there. And then she says, oh, no, wait, 00:29:49.569 --> 00:29:52.009 no, wait, no, wait. This is actually the cool 00:29:52.009 --> 00:29:56.809 part. It's from the Holy Spirit, you know? And 00:29:56.809 --> 00:29:59.750 Joseph, put yourself in his sandals. Has got 00:29:59.750 --> 00:30:05.009 to be thinking, yeah, right. You're crazy. Right? 00:30:05.009 --> 00:30:06.930 I saw you the way you were looking at that guy 00:30:06.930 --> 00:30:09.970 at the market. Right? Whatever. Whatever. Right? 00:30:10.150 --> 00:30:12.089 No, no, no, no, no. Really, really, really. God 00:30:12.089 --> 00:30:14.950 got me pregnant. Right? Sure. Sure. Like, I'm 00:30:14.950 --> 00:30:18.720 going to go tell my buddies that. Right, and 00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:23.099 so he did what every other guy would do. He planned 00:30:23.099 --> 00:30:25.920 to break things off with her Tried to get out 00:30:25.920 --> 00:30:30.019 of town But God sent one of his heavenly messengers 00:30:30.019 --> 00:30:34.819 in a dream to give Joseph direction in his life 00:30:34.819 --> 00:30:37.400 Here's what scripture says I'm gonna read about 00:30:37.400 --> 00:30:39.640 this account from the gospel account of Matthew 00:30:39.640 --> 00:30:43.359 first chapter and 20 an angel of the Lord appeared 00:30:43.359 --> 00:30:46.140 to Joseph in a dream and said Joseph son of David 00:30:46.670 --> 00:30:50.869 Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, 00:30:50.990 --> 00:30:54.849 because what is conceived in her is from the 00:30:54.849 --> 00:30:58.750 Holy Spirit. Angel of God appeared to Joseph 00:30:58.750 --> 00:31:02.250 and gave him direction. I'm gonna give you another 00:31:02.250 --> 00:31:05.569 example of direction, this time from Hebrew scripture, 00:31:05.609 --> 00:31:08.730 from the Old Testament. Stories in Numbers 22 00:31:08.730 --> 00:31:11.650 and 21. It's a pretty funny story, powerful story, 00:31:11.670 --> 00:31:13.269 but pretty funny to me. This is what the Bible 00:31:13.269 --> 00:31:17.180 says. There's this guy named Balaam. Alright, 00:31:17.339 --> 00:31:19.839 one day Balam got up in the morning and saddled 00:31:19.839 --> 00:31:22.380 his donkey and went out to the princes of Moab. 00:31:22.599 --> 00:31:25.680 But God was very angry when he went, and an angel 00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:29.940 of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. 00:31:30.420 --> 00:31:33.980 This guy's going in the wrong direction, so God 00:31:33.980 --> 00:31:37.400 sends an angel to redirect him. Balam, scripture 00:31:37.400 --> 00:31:39.660 says, is riding on his donkey and two of his 00:31:39.660 --> 00:31:42.519 servants with him, verse 23. This is when the 00:31:42.519 --> 00:31:45.099 donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in 00:31:45.099 --> 00:31:48.000 the road with a drawn sword in his hand. She, 00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:51.279 the donkey, turned off the road and into a field. 00:31:52.180 --> 00:31:54.960 Alright, so here we have Balam. He's riding on 00:31:54.960 --> 00:31:57.980 his faithful old friend, his old donkey, right? 00:31:58.720 --> 00:32:01.460 The donkey sees this fierce angel and Balam does 00:32:01.460 --> 00:32:05.400 not see. And is like, I don't want any of that. 00:32:05.880 --> 00:32:08.319 And takes a right turn, so the donkey veers off. 00:32:08.440 --> 00:32:13.779 Balam, not happy about this. Right? He gets off 00:32:13.779 --> 00:32:16.400 the donkey and I mean he just beats the tar out 00:32:16.400 --> 00:32:20.240 of this donkey. Bad donkey! Bad donkey! Right? 00:32:20.900 --> 00:32:23.920 Gets on the donkey, starts going again. If you 00:32:23.920 --> 00:32:25.680 read the whole story, an angel actually shows 00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:30.599 up a second time and blocks the donkey and diverts 00:32:30.599 --> 00:32:32.779 Balam into a mountain. It ends up kind of crushing 00:32:32.779 --> 00:32:35.240 his foot. He took Balam's foot and he jammed 00:32:35.240 --> 00:32:37.460 it into the side of the mountain. There was such 00:32:37.460 --> 00:32:40.619 a narrow space that whenever the donkey Tried 00:32:40.619 --> 00:32:43.559 to get away from the angel that crushed between 00:32:43.559 --> 00:32:45.339 the donkey and the mountain crushed his foot 00:32:45.339 --> 00:32:48.759 this time I mean Balaam is madder than you can 00:32:48.759 --> 00:32:53.339 imagine He gets off and he starts whipping the 00:32:53.339 --> 00:32:58.140 tail end of this donkey bad donkey, right? He 00:32:58.140 --> 00:33:02.059 gets on the donkey again Donkeys going forward 00:33:02.059 --> 00:33:05.460 sees the big fierce angel the donkey says uh 00:33:05.460 --> 00:33:09.269 -uh and just gets down just lays down with Balam 00:33:09.269 --> 00:33:13.930 on him. Just lays down on the ground. Gets off 00:33:13.930 --> 00:33:16.809 another time and is just beating the snot out 00:33:16.809 --> 00:33:19.609 of this poor cute little innocent donkey. And 00:33:19.609 --> 00:33:22.529 evidently God felt sorry for the little donkey 00:33:22.529 --> 00:33:25.369 because he does something very cool. He actually 00:33:25.369 --> 00:33:28.690 opens up the donkey's mouth and lets the donkey 00:33:28.690 --> 00:33:31.549 speak for himself. Go home and read this. This 00:33:31.549 --> 00:33:35.009 is in Numbers 22. The little donkey says, Balam, 00:33:35.089 --> 00:33:38.049 I thought we were friends. I've been your faithful 00:33:38.049 --> 00:33:39.769 little donkey all these years. Do you think I 00:33:39.769 --> 00:33:42.470 would really run you off the road? Have I ever 00:33:42.470 --> 00:33:45.450 been unfaithful to you? What's crazy is that 00:33:45.450 --> 00:33:47.910 Balaam just starts talking to the donkey back. 00:33:48.430 --> 00:33:51.029 Like, wait, when did my donkey all of a sudden 00:33:51.029 --> 00:33:53.650 start talking? Doesn't say anything about it, 00:33:53.829 --> 00:33:56.930 just goes into arguing with the donkey. Right, 00:33:56.990 --> 00:33:59.230 he starts talking back and all of a sudden scripture 00:33:59.230 --> 00:34:02.599 says that God opened up Balaam's eyes. and that 00:34:02.599 --> 00:34:04.859 he could finally see the angel. He was like, 00:34:05.059 --> 00:34:08.679 whoa. He actually bows down before the angel 00:34:08.679 --> 00:34:11.260 and the angel speaks to him. Very interesting. 00:34:11.739 --> 00:34:15.659 The angel says to Balaam, the angel speaks to 00:34:15.659 --> 00:34:18.300 him and says, basically, Balaam, if you had have 00:34:18.300 --> 00:34:22.199 gone any further, buddy, I was going to kill 00:34:22.199 --> 00:34:25.380 you. But I was going to save that little donkey. 00:34:26.739 --> 00:34:29.920 Everybody likes the little donkey. Now Balaam 00:34:29.920 --> 00:34:33.320 been riding a cat. Right we can only imagine 00:34:33.320 --> 00:34:38.980 right Angels Angels could have wiped about things 00:34:38.980 --> 00:34:41.059 right but here we see this guy with everything 00:34:41.059 --> 00:34:42.659 in him wanted to go in a certain direction and 00:34:42.659 --> 00:34:46.679 we see an angel coming to redirect him there 00:34:46.679 --> 00:34:50.190 may be times in your life when you are just hell 00:34:50.190 --> 00:34:53.050 bent on doing something. You just got to do it, 00:34:53.130 --> 00:34:56.289 man. You just got to do it. And you seem to keep 00:34:56.289 --> 00:34:58.650 hitting roadblocks. Even the fact that you feel 00:34:58.650 --> 00:35:00.929 you just got to do it, you keep hitting roadblocks. 00:35:00.989 --> 00:35:03.909 What could it be? Perhaps. Perhaps it's an angel 00:35:03.909 --> 00:35:07.110 of the Lord redirecting you off the wrong path 00:35:07.110 --> 00:35:11.130 onto the right path. Angels do a lot of things. 00:35:11.429 --> 00:35:14.250 What do angels do? First thing, angels give us 00:35:14.250 --> 00:35:18.400 direction. Now not only will angels give us direction, 00:35:18.440 --> 00:35:21.420 but if you are looking at your names notes angels 00:35:21.420 --> 00:35:26.000 also protect you from danger Now occasionally 00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:28.820 people ask do I have a guardian angel does everyone 00:35:28.820 --> 00:35:32.840 have a guardian angel? Well truthfully truthfully 00:35:32.840 --> 00:35:36.639 scripture never says that everyone gets a guardian 00:35:36.639 --> 00:35:40.579 angel It's just not in there guys All right. 00:35:40.739 --> 00:35:44.659 Sorry Clarence right but What the Bible does 00:35:44.659 --> 00:35:47.679 say is very specific. Psalm 91, 11, and 12 says, 00:35:48.219 --> 00:35:50.460 for God will command his angels concerning you 00:35:50.460 --> 00:35:53.000 to guard you in all your ways. Verse 12 says, 00:35:53.059 --> 00:35:55.000 they'll lift you up in their hands so that you 00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:57.260 will not strike your foot against the stone. 00:35:58.099 --> 00:36:02.380 Angels often can protect us from danger, right? 00:36:02.500 --> 00:36:05.739 So I guess thanks, Clarence, right? Another great 00:36:05.739 --> 00:36:08.719 example of angels protecting people. In the New 00:36:08.719 --> 00:36:11.159 Testament, Peter, Apostle Peter's locked up in 00:36:11.159 --> 00:36:14.250 prison as much as he wants to be free. out in 00:36:14.250 --> 00:36:16.570 the city square preaching about Jesus. Right 00:36:16.570 --> 00:36:18.829 instead, he's chained up in prison. He can't 00:36:18.829 --> 00:36:21.550 get free at any moment. The king Herod is his 00:36:21.550 --> 00:36:23.110 name. He could have pronounced the judgment on 00:36:23.110 --> 00:36:25.670 him. And just like that, had Peter executed. 00:36:26.510 --> 00:36:28.190 But in the middle of his time in prison, here's 00:36:28.190 --> 00:36:30.469 what scripture says. The story is in Acts chapter 00:36:30.469 --> 00:36:32.750 12, beginning with seven. Suddenly an angel of 00:36:32.750 --> 00:36:35.269 the Lord appeared. The Bible goes on to say, 00:36:35.449 --> 00:36:38.289 and a light shone in the cell. The angel, he 00:36:38.289 --> 00:36:40.489 struck Peter on the side and woke him up. Quick, 00:36:40.670 --> 00:36:43.179 get up, he said. And the chains fell off Peter's 00:36:43.179 --> 00:36:45.000 wrist. I just want to say real quickly, this 00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:46.519 is one of those instances where the angel doesn't 00:36:46.519 --> 00:36:51.199 have to say to the apostle Peter, fear not. Because 00:36:51.199 --> 00:36:53.079 I think it's because Peter's filled with the 00:36:53.079 --> 00:36:55.860 Holy Spirit at this point. He's preaching boldly 00:36:55.860 --> 00:36:58.820 in the square. He's converted 3 ,000 people. 00:36:59.139 --> 00:37:03.039 He gets angels. He's got no reason to fear angels. 00:37:03.619 --> 00:37:06.019 Just something to think about. Quick, get up. 00:37:06.280 --> 00:37:10.809 Chains fell off Peter's wrist. And suddenly Peter's 00:37:10.809 --> 00:37:12.909 free. Verse 8 says, the angel said to him, put 00:37:12.909 --> 00:37:14.809 on your clothes and your sandals, which he does, 00:37:15.130 --> 00:37:16.969 wrap your cloak around you and follow me. Verse 00:37:16.969 --> 00:37:19.610 11 says that Peter came to himself and said, 00:37:19.730 --> 00:37:22.429 now I know without a doubt that the Lord has 00:37:22.429 --> 00:37:25.030 sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches. 00:37:25.309 --> 00:37:29.489 Beyond a shadow of a doubt, God sent one of his 00:37:29.489 --> 00:37:33.309 supernatural beings to rescue me. And friends, 00:37:33.559 --> 00:37:37.480 You may never know. There may come a time in 00:37:37.480 --> 00:37:40.440 your life when you could say those exact same 00:37:40.440 --> 00:37:44.280 words beyond a shadow of doubt. The Lord said 00:37:44.280 --> 00:37:47.599 his angel to protect me. I've heard a lot of 00:37:47.599 --> 00:37:50.960 people actually say that, right? They say, I 00:37:50.960 --> 00:37:53.119 just know, I just know there was an angel in 00:37:53.119 --> 00:37:56.300 my life. Now I don't personally have any, you 00:37:56.300 --> 00:37:59.530 know. Angel stories like that some you know 10 00:37:59.530 --> 00:38:03.929 foot tall scary Being where I feel like I'm afraid. 00:38:04.010 --> 00:38:07.550 I don't have any of those But I do believe this 00:38:07.550 --> 00:38:10.230 right I absolutely by faith believe that there 00:38:10.230 --> 00:38:13.989 are angels all around us and may he in fact be 00:38:13.989 --> 00:38:16.469 Protecting people that I love and care about 00:38:16.469 --> 00:38:21.510 right now all the time and we don't know You 00:38:21.510 --> 00:38:24.050 may never know. You never know how many times 00:38:24.050 --> 00:38:27.489 God is doing something supernatural to protect 00:38:27.489 --> 00:38:31.449 you or the ones you love. You just don't know. 00:38:32.469 --> 00:38:37.429 Well, what do angels do? Angels can direct you. 00:38:37.969 --> 00:38:41.309 Angels can protect you. And then perhaps my favorite 00:38:41.309 --> 00:38:44.969 in notes is this. Angels can also minister to 00:38:44.969 --> 00:38:48.199 you. They can minister God's love and healing 00:38:48.199 --> 00:38:50.320 and power to you. In fact, scripture says in 00:38:50.320 --> 00:38:54.340 Hebrews 1 and 14, are not all angels ministering 00:38:54.340 --> 00:38:57.420 spirits sent to serve those who inherit salvation? 00:38:58.440 --> 00:39:01.579 They're ministering spirits. In fact, Jesus, 00:39:01.739 --> 00:39:04.639 when he's tempted three different times by Satan, 00:39:05.760 --> 00:39:10.300 after a 40 -day fast, Jesus was physically exhausted. 00:39:11.820 --> 00:39:15.710 And he was tempted three different times. by 00:39:15.710 --> 00:39:20.250 Satan. Jesus faithfully fought Satan off each 00:39:20.250 --> 00:39:22.690 individual time with the word of God, but at 00:39:22.690 --> 00:39:25.510 the end he was just physically wasted, both physically, 00:39:25.570 --> 00:39:28.530 spiritually, and totally exhausted, recovering 00:39:28.530 --> 00:39:31.170 from a very intense and spiritual battle, right? 00:39:31.250 --> 00:39:34.590 And what happens? Again, from Matthew's Gospel 00:39:34.590 --> 00:39:37.909 account, 4th chapter, 11th verse, then the devil 00:39:37.909 --> 00:39:40.730 left him and behold, guess who shows up, and 00:39:40.730 --> 00:39:44.349 behold angels came. And what did they do? They 00:39:44.349 --> 00:39:48.150 ministered to Jesus. That word that is translated 00:39:48.150 --> 00:39:50.889 as ministered in the Greek language is an awesome 00:39:50.889 --> 00:39:56.210 word. It's the word diakono, diakono. And it 00:39:56.210 --> 00:39:59.469 means to be an attendant. It means to wait upon 00:39:59.469 --> 00:40:02.750 someone. It means to be a servant to someone. 00:40:03.789 --> 00:40:08.110 It means to minister, to care for, to love as 00:40:08.110 --> 00:40:12.969 a friend, okay? Diakono. That's what that's exactly 00:40:12.969 --> 00:40:15.650 where that word deacon comes from and that's 00:40:15.650 --> 00:40:18.590 what the angels did it minister to Jesus as unto 00:40:18.590 --> 00:40:22.449 a friend Angels are ministering spirits. They 00:40:22.449 --> 00:40:24.369 can minister to you and they can minister to 00:40:24.369 --> 00:40:28.489 me another Powerful example involving Jesus was 00:40:28.489 --> 00:40:30.730 whenever he's in the garden of Gethsemane, right? 00:40:30.829 --> 00:40:33.829 just hours, hours before his horrible torturing 00:40:33.829 --> 00:40:36.949 death on the cross. And he knew what was coming. 00:40:37.170 --> 00:40:39.630 So he prays out to God. Here's what Jesus says. 00:40:40.070 --> 00:40:43.449 He says, God, if there is any other way, any 00:40:43.449 --> 00:40:46.250 way at all, may this cup of suffering be removed 00:40:46.250 --> 00:40:49.929 from me. And he was in so much agony knowing 00:40:49.929 --> 00:40:52.929 what that was to come that as he was sweating, 00:40:53.469 --> 00:40:57.369 he was actually sweating blood. That's how intense 00:40:57.369 --> 00:41:04.019 this was. any other way. And what happens? Here's 00:41:04.019 --> 00:41:08.019 what happens. Verse 23 of Luke's gospel, 22nd 00:41:08.019 --> 00:41:10.400 chapter of that gospel, an angel from heaven 00:41:10.400 --> 00:41:13.679 appeared to him. And what did the angel do? Scripture 00:41:13.679 --> 00:41:17.880 says the angel strengthened him. The angel strengthened 00:41:17.880 --> 00:41:21.519 him and Jesus went on to say, then the powerful 00:41:21.519 --> 00:41:26.840 words, okay, God, not what I want, right? Now 00:41:26.840 --> 00:41:31.260 may your will be done. Angels can strengthen 00:41:31.260 --> 00:41:36.260 us, even now. Maybe you have a vision of something, 00:41:36.780 --> 00:41:39.179 and you just don't see how it's gonna come about. 00:41:39.320 --> 00:41:42.099 And maybe an angel can come and give you strength, 00:41:42.239 --> 00:41:45.199 keep you going. Maybe you're facing a challenge 00:41:45.199 --> 00:41:46.940 in your life. Maybe you're facing a challenge 00:41:46.940 --> 00:41:50.139 in your marriage. Maybe we just can't get through 00:41:50.139 --> 00:41:52.639 this. An angel of the Lord might come and give 00:41:52.639 --> 00:41:56.019 you strength and hope. Maybe you're facing a 00:41:56.019 --> 00:41:59.119 temptation. I can't overcome this sin. Maybe 00:41:59.119 --> 00:42:01.500 God will send a ministering angel that gives 00:42:01.500 --> 00:42:03.719 you the strength to overcome the temptations 00:42:03.719 --> 00:42:08.860 of the evil one. And maybe you're just exhausted, 00:42:09.840 --> 00:42:13.239 physically, mentally, spiritually, burned out. 00:42:13.980 --> 00:42:17.900 God may send one of his ministering angels to 00:42:17.900 --> 00:42:21.739 re -energize you. Don't know what your situation 00:42:21.739 --> 00:42:24.300 might be, but here's what I do know, friends. 00:42:24.840 --> 00:42:27.880 Know that beyond a shadow of doubt that we do 00:42:27.880 --> 00:42:32.699 live in a physical world But there is equally 00:42:32.699 --> 00:42:37.179 Equally is real and perhaps maybe even more important 00:42:37.179 --> 00:42:40.360 There is a spiritual world where the forces of 00:42:40.360 --> 00:42:43.639 darkness battle against the forces of light where 00:42:43.639 --> 00:42:48.340 the kingdom of God right battles against the 00:42:48.340 --> 00:42:52.400 plans of the evil one and Remember friends we 00:42:52.400 --> 00:42:55.019 battle not against people not against flesh and 00:42:55.019 --> 00:42:57.719 blood, but against principalities, the powers 00:42:57.719 --> 00:43:01.360 of the dark world. We are given weapons, weapons 00:43:01.360 --> 00:43:05.420 by God to fight that are not out of this world. 00:43:06.019 --> 00:43:09.300 The helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, 00:43:09.500 --> 00:43:12.699 the shield of faith, the belt of truth, the shoes 00:43:12.699 --> 00:43:16.940 that are prepared to God's peace. We have the 00:43:16.940 --> 00:43:22.050 sword of the spirit. And the great news is this, 00:43:22.070 --> 00:43:24.190 we don't fight and engage trying to gain victory, 00:43:24.210 --> 00:43:27.190 Jesus. Jesus has already won the victory for 00:43:27.190 --> 00:43:31.010 us, right? Remember, if you're a disciple of 00:43:31.010 --> 00:43:34.610 Jesus, if you're a follower of his, then that 00:43:34.610 --> 00:43:37.610 greater is the one who is in you than the evil 00:43:37.610 --> 00:43:41.329 one who is in the world. So call upon God, depend 00:43:41.329 --> 00:43:44.010 on him, and supernaturally, he'll sustain you 00:43:44.010 --> 00:43:47.309 and bring you his ultimate and perfect victory. 00:43:49.180 --> 00:43:56.480 angels any questions yes well no satan is an 00:43:56.480 --> 00:44:05.400 angelic well what do you think friends am i making 00:44:05.400 --> 00:44:09.239 a mountain out of mole hills out here am i am 00:44:09.239 --> 00:44:12.000 i maybe making too big of a distinction about 00:44:12.000 --> 00:44:15.099 whether this type of angel or that type of angel 00:44:15.099 --> 00:44:19.619 has wings or maybe Is there some truth to what 00:44:19.619 --> 00:44:22.099 we were talking about tonight that, well, maybe 00:44:22.099 --> 00:44:26.800 there is a lot more to this spiritual world that 00:44:26.800 --> 00:44:30.360 I haven't really given much consideration to. 00:44:31.980 --> 00:44:34.760 Is there a lot more going on in the spiritual 00:44:34.760 --> 00:44:40.360 world that I just don't think about? Have I forgotten 00:44:40.360 --> 00:44:44.500 that maybe, like we learned in Daniel, that from 00:44:44.500 --> 00:44:50.150 the moment that I pray, My prayers are heard. 00:44:51.929 --> 00:44:55.710 It might take 21 days. It might take 21 years 00:44:55.710 --> 00:44:58.070 for my prayer to be answered. It doesn't mean 00:44:58.070 --> 00:45:01.869 that in the spiritual world from the first moment 00:45:01.869 --> 00:45:06.730 I made my petition to God, my plea was heard. 00:45:09.329 --> 00:45:14.650 That's something to think about. It's a lot bigger 00:45:14.650 --> 00:45:18.409 spiritual world out there than sometimes. I guess 00:45:18.409 --> 00:45:22.869 we give credit for. It's something for us to 00:45:22.869 --> 00:45:26.210 think about how important our spiritual lives 00:45:26.210 --> 00:45:29.110 are compared to our physical lives. And maybe, 00:45:29.409 --> 00:45:31.710 maybe even in these little distinctions I've 00:45:31.710 --> 00:45:35.869 made tonight, we've realized just how big, how 00:45:35.869 --> 00:45:38.809 big the divine world of God, the world that exists 00:45:38.809 --> 00:45:43.769 outside of space and time, actually is. Maybe 00:45:43.769 --> 00:45:48.400 if we're able to see it, maybe we can plug into 00:45:48.400 --> 00:45:53.579 it supercharge our own lives maybe we can move 00:45:53.579 --> 00:45:58.699 out of the natural into the supernatural like 00:45:58.699 --> 00:46:02.019 i said i think it's something to think about 00:46:02.019 --> 00:46:04.199 hey we're going to continue in the spiritual 00:46:04.199 --> 00:46:06.440 realm next week next week we're going to look 00:46:06.440 --> 00:46:11.360 at our old buddy satan and satan's demons i hope 00:46:11.360 --> 00:46:15.300 that you will come back and thanks this is the 00:46:15.300 --> 00:46:16.519 semi seminarian