Sunday, August 28, 2005

Angels

The story of Reubel

To listen to the archived message log onto Online Church at www.cotr.com. You will hear the story of Reubel which details a modern day encounter with an angel sent from God.

The bible reveals very little specific information about angels however their encounters with mankind are numerous. It is through these encounters we catch glimpses of their person and role.

In our current bible study series we have looked at Who God Is, Who Jesus Is, Who the Holy Spirit Is and Who the Devil is, all in attempts to better understand the players in this game of life we are living. Ultimately the question will be: Who Are You? Before we get to that question there is one more group of players we want to look at.

Angels

Gtcotr/ss082805

Angels come in different categories:

Holy Angels & Fallen Angels

Angels of Darkness and Angels of Light

Today our main text will be coming from the book of Daniel

While you turn there let me read our key scripture and follow with some commentary.

Key Scripture: Hebrews 13:2 Dont forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! (NLT)

The word Angel from the Old Testament Hebrew and the New Testament Greek and Aramaic simply means Messenger.

We know angels to be “created beings”, a distinct order of creation different from mankind, yet complimentary as each creation fits into the overall picture and plan of God in this universe He has established for His own purpose.

This means that angels are not merely the spirits of already passed on saints. In other words, when a child of God dies, they do not become one of God’s angels anymore than a lost person becomes one of the devil’s demons.

However, since the word angel is defined as Messenger: It could be stretched to say that both Moses and Elijah were messengers, angels of God, when they were sent to appear to Jesus on the mount of transfiguration. However the concept of messenger here would describe a function and not a being.

As well, Paul’s thorn in the flesh mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:7, is referred to as “a messenger (angel) of satan”.

In one form or another angels are mentioned almost 400 times in the bible. It’s from these incidental accounts that we get our information.

There were angels, cherubim in creation, rank and order, who were sent by God to stand at the entrance of the Garden of Eden after mankind’s fall into sin. Having their flaming swords at the ready they were set there to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:24

From this we see angels as submissive to the commands of God.

Psalms 103:20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.

(KJV)

It was the Angel of The Lord who spoke to Abraham on the Mountain of Moriah, whereon is present day Jerusalem, the Temple Mount and Mount Calvary.

Genesis 22

11 ¶ But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am."

12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." (NKJV)

Later he spoke again and delivered the covenant to Abraham:

Genesis 22

15 ¶ Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven,

16 and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son

17 "blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.

18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." (NKJV)

It was an angel that helped the children of Israel conquer their enemies. Exodus 33:2

It was an angel who woke Peter up, loosed his chains, opened the gate and got him out of jail unnoticed by the guards. Acts 10:3

It was an angel that was sent to a Roman Centurion in the city of Caesarea to give him direction. Acts 12:7

Even after Jesus had been tempted by the devil for 40 days and nights and had defeated all temptation, God sent angels to minister to Him. Matthew 4:11

Psalms says that angels are flames of fire. Psalms 104:4

Angels are sent forth to minister to those who are heirs of salvation.

There are certain orders or ranks of angels and there is indication that saints will one day judge the angels. 1 Corinthians 6:3

Angels don’t die. Luke 20:36 Even the fallen ones who are held in chains, reserved unto the day of judgment. 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6

We know there are armies of angels that men cannot see except their eyes be opened into the spirit realm.

2 Kings 6

15 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?"

16 So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them."

17 And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (NKJV)

We read of Cherubim and Seraphim, principalities and rulers, messengers and ministering spirits. Angels of light and angels of darkness, each with certain accessible powers and authority.

One of the more interesting accounts of angels occurs in the book of Daniel. It is where Daniel had been praying and fasting, seeking understanding from the Lord.

An angel is dispatched from heaven to carry God’s message to Daniel. Perhaps it was Gabriel once again who had earlier spoken with Daniel.

Daniel 10 (NIV)

12 Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.

13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.

14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come."

20 So he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come;

21 but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No-one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.

This passage, along with Zechariah chapters 1-6, gives us an understanding that there is ongoing strategic warfare in the heavens waged by angels on behalf of God’s plan for mankind as it is written in the Book of Truth.

This is their duty in the heavens, while here on earth our job is to also carry on a spiritual warfare against the forces of darkness surrounding us.

The Apostle Paul wrote:

Ephesians 6 (NKJV)

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

The Apostle John admonished us not to accept every voice or spiritual phenomenon as coming from God.

1 John 4 (NKJV)

1 ¶ Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,

3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

We understand that in the last days there will come an increase of demonic, devilish, evil spirited influences and activities.

Spirits will be sent forth to deceive the nations and world leaders.

Our Key Scripture today tells us to be careful when entertaining strangers, who knows, we might be entertaining angels unaware.

This could be taken not only as an encouragement to treat strangers with kindness, but coupled with some other scriptures, could mean to literally be careful - it might also be a messenger from the dark side.

2 Corinthians 11

14 But I am not surprised! Even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light.

15 So it is no wonder his servants can also do it by pretending to be godly ministers. (NLT)

The great company of angels which accompany God’s presence and serve the Lord Jesus Christ are so powerful, so numerous, so wise and so willing.

I was once told by an elderly pastor who had devoted much of his time to the study of angels that drawing upon the number of angels spoken of in the bible, each born again believer on planet earth has more than a dozen angels just to himself providing the number were divided equally to each one.

I don’t know about that but one thing I do know is that:

Hebrews 1:14 Angels are ministering spirits sent forth to take care of those who will inherit salvation.

And also that …

Angels are on assignment to help you!

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Receiving From God

Tonight I want to share the potential and the process of

Receiving From God

Gtcotr/ws081705

We will be going to several places in the bible tonight and, for the sake of continuity, I will be reading primarily from the New King James Version of the bible.

Each of us have the potential of receiving from God. When I speak of receiving I am talking about receiving:

* His intervention into our affairs

* His promises, which are abundant - from:

> Salvation to

> Healing

> Prosperity

> Deliverance in every area of life, from demonic oppression to drug addiction

> Help with marriage, child raising, employment, ministry and every other area of life.

If it affects you, it most likely affects the Kingdom of God, and God has a plan to deal with it and make it work.

We can receive God’s will and best for our lives and for each and every situation we face if we can learn the process and follow the procedure.

The bible says in Psalms 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord.

God has ordained steps to bring us into His will and along His path for our lives. He has already put recognizable steps in place to help guide us into our greatest day.

I want to start tonight’s teaching by identifying

Four Steps To Receiving From God

There are four basic elements in this equation, which, if understood and practiced, will bring us along to a predictable success in receiving what we ask for from God.

Remember, many things will not come from God except we ask.

James 4:2 … Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

John 16:24 … Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

But also, there is a whole lot of asking going on which is not producing the desired results. Perhaps one of the four essential elements to receiving from God is missing.

Step #1: Grace

Grace is the unmerited favor of God.

Grace means that even though we did not deserve it, God made it available to us anyway, just because of His goodness and love.

Grace is what was given to us through the act of Jesus, the Messiah and Son of God, offering Himself on the cross of Calvary.

If it was paid for at the cross, its available to us and we can access it.

If Grace provided it, then we can work the steps and get it.

Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Revelation 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, Amen.

2 Corinthians 12:9 My grace is sufficient for you.

Step # 2: Hope

Hope is believing in the possibility of something.

Hope is thinking that God could turn impossibilities into possibilities.

Hope is imagining that possibilities could become realities.

Hope envisions a better day.

Hebrews 6:19 Hope we have as an anchor of the soul …

Hope is great, but hope and hope alone will keep you smiling while your ship goes down.

Romans 8:24 Hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?

Step #3: Faith

While hope is believing in the blessings, power and the promises of God, Faith is believing for them.

Hope is an anchor, faith is the propeller, giving power and allowing pursuit.

Faith is believing that what God has said is true without regard to the facts

Faith says that if Grace provided it, then it is mine.

While

* Grace provides the promises

* Hope envisions the promises

* Faith lays hold on the promises

Matthew 17

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”

20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

Hope is believing in - Faith is believing for!

It is necessary to believe in it before we can believe for it.

Step #4: Patience

There are basically two types of patience spoken of in the bible. One type means to put up with. To be longsuffering, bear up under hardships in a passive sort of way.

The other type means to persevere under pressure.

To be able to remain constant under fire.

To have the self control so to not allow oneself to be overwhelmed and quit.

To keep on keeping on.

Real endurance to finish the race, even when you are tired and it’s an uphill climb.

This is the type of patience I am speaking of.

It takes this type of aggressive patience to obtain the promises.

Hebrews 10:36 For you have need of endurance (patience), so that, after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.

Luke 21:19 By your patience possess your souls.

Hebrews 6:12 Imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Remember, we must ask for some things in order to receive them.

However, there is a whole lot of asking going on with little or no results.

Many miss the mark! Where do they miss it?

Four major ways people miss the mark and dont get the prize.

1. They ask amiss.

James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

2. They don’t ask according to the will of God

1 John 5

14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hear us.

15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

3. They dont believe in it before they attempt to believe for it

James 1

6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord:

8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

4. They stop believing for it before they obtain it

James 1

3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience

4 But let patience have it’s perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Of these four steps, we major mainly on faith.

Jesus told several people that it was by their faith that they were made whole.

He also said that anything is possible to him who believes.

So, in conclusion tonight, allow me to give you four ways that we can get faith.

1. Romans 12:3 speaks of The Measure of Faith

* God has given to each one of us a measure of faith.

* This is no doubt enough faith to get saved.

* Remember we are saved by grace through faith.

* Everyone has enough of the spark of faith resident in their life at the time they are given the opportunity to accept the truth leading them to salvation through the grace of God’s Son.

* However, many attempt to live a victorious and abundant overcoming life on salvation faith.

2. Romans 10:17 says Faith Comes By Hearing

* Hearing the Word of God

* Read, preached, quoted, sang, in the thought realm during meditation or invasion, inspired in spirit by God - whatever -

* More hearing of the Word, more faith.

3. Galatians 5:22 tells us that Faith Is A Fruit Of The Spirit

* Jesus said that He was the vine and we are the branches

* If we abide in Him we will bring forth much fruit

* What fruit - the fruit of the Spirit

* So, if we hang around Jesus and draw our life from Him as our Source, then we will produce the fruit of the Spirit. Faith is one of those fruits.

* You shall know them by their fruits --- people can tell --- there is evidence that you have been with Jesus!

4. 1 Corinthians 12:9 Faith Is A Manifestation Of The Holy Ghost

* The Holy Spirit reserves the right just to show up and manifest Himself in our lives by faith.

* An extra abundant dose of faith that we did not work for or perhaps do not deserve, but we got anyway because of the grace and mercy and plan of God.

* A manifestation of faith is possible but we cannot depend solely on that eventuality. We should do our homework and exercise ourselves and be ready for the day of battle.

Conclusion:

What grace provides, hope can envision

What hope envisions, faith can lay hold on

What faith lays hold on, patience can bring to you

Ask - But don’t ask amiss to only pleasure yourself

And don’t ask outside of God’s will

Work on believing in it before you attempt to believe for it

Don’t stop because of a little hardship or impatience

Get saved but let your faith grow by

Hearing the word

And fellowshipping with Jesus

Remember, you can always depend on the Holy

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Who Are You? Part 2

Who Are You?

Part 2

Gtcotr/ss081405a - Second Service

Key Scripture: Acts 19:15 And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?"

Last Sunday morning we began a series in efforts to teach the biblical perspective of who we are, first in the general sense as mankind, then as it pertains to being a Christian and finally as it relates to each one of us individually.

During the past several days I have been continually reminded of a scripture verse in Proverbs. Time and again my spirit has overridden the current thoughts of my natural mind and the situation at hand and given me this scripture to ponder. I have noticed it so much that I have told many of my colleagues and friends about this continual interruption of my natural thought processes.

The verse I am referring to is found in Proverbs 29:18. In the King James Version it reads:

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

The Message version of the bible says:

If people cant see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves.

Another reading puts it:

Where there is no firm direction, people wander aimlessly.

This is the way I have been rehearsing it to myself, over and over and over again.

Where there is no firm direction, people wander aimlessly.

There are two things it takes to have direction in life. We must:

#1. Know Where We Are

#2. Know Where We Are Going

Without either of these elements we have no firm direction.

Of these two essential elements:

* Knowing where we want to go is the easiest

* Determining where we are is the hardest and often the most important.

Where we want to go may or may not become a reality, but where we are is already a matter of fact.

I believe it is very important for us to know us, our purpose, the reason God created us, our calling, our goal, duty, our destiny and where we currently are on this journey.

For this reason I have decided to depart from the regular inspirational and motivational Sunday morning preaching format and these two or three Sundays, and focus more on spiritual education.

Since we do not currently have the space for our adult Sunday School program, I am taking a full semester of college level bible study and encapsulating it into a few short and concentrated teachings.

Last week we looked at the question:

Who Is God?

The simple answer was: Our Father.

This morning I want to pick up with the question:

Who is Jesus? And where does He fit in? Is He God too?

John 1

1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

* Again, in the beginning, goes at least as far back as Genesis 1:1, where God began to mark time for humans to reference.

* Gods Word was with Him there in the beginning.

* The Word of God herein, refers to Jesus. We see this in:

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

* Jesus was with God in the beginning of revealed history.

John 1

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

* God had a Son, born or a virgin, perfect and sinless.

* Jesus, although with God in Genesis 1, has never, is not now, nor will He ever be the One true and living God.

* Jesus is the Son of God, Gods Word which took upon flesh, destined to rule Gods kingdom both in heaven and in earth.

* Everything God created was made for the Son

* Stephen said that he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father. Acts

* Jesus is both Immanuel and Messiah

* We know the Son as Savior, Lord, Brother, Friend and King.

* His name is Jesus, He is Messiah, Savior of the World, Redeemer of mankind and King of the Universe for all ages to come.

This brings us to a third consideration:

Who is the Holy Spirit?

Genesis 1

1 ¶ In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

* The Holy Spirit is The

> Omnipotent

> Omniscient

> Omnipresent

presence of our Father God.

* The portion of Gods character and being which can be transferred to another.

* The agent of Gods spiritual DNA, His spiritual genes, which when received into the human heart, has power to convert and transform.

* We know Him as counselor, comforter, guide and teacher who imparts gifts, endues with power, leads men to repentance and orchestrates Gods plan in the earth.

* The Holy Spirit is not an experience, The Holy Spirit is God!

Ezekiel 2:2 And the spirit entered into me when He spoke to me. …”

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

God's Way

God’s Way

Gtcotr/ws081005

Key Scripture: Matthew 22:29 Jesus replied, "Your problem is that you dont know the Scriptures, and you dont know the power of God. (NLT)

2 Timothy 3 (NLT)

1 ¶ You should also know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times.

2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.

3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control; they will be cruel and have no interest in what is good.

4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.

5 They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. You must stay away from people like that.

6 They are the kind who work their way into peoples homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by many desires.

7 Such women are forever following new teachings, but they never understand the truth.

8 And these teachers fight the truth just as Jannes and Jambres fought against Moses. Their minds are depraved, and their faith is counterfeit.

9 But they wont get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as happened with Jannes and Jambres.

10 ¶ But you know what I teach, Timothy, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is. You know my faith and how long I have suffered. You know my love and my patient endurance.

11 You know how much persecution and suffering I have endured. You know all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystrabut the Lord delivered me from all of it.

12 Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

13 But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will go on deceiving others, and they themselves will be deceived.

14 But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you.

15 You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.

17 It is Gods way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.

I. We Are Living In The Last Days

A. People are in love with themselves and their money

B. Children disobey parents

C. People in general are ungrateful

D. Nothing is considered sacred or holy

E. Un-forgiveness rules people’s lives

F. Many have no self-control

G. People seem to love and seek pleasure more than seeking God

H. We no longer depend on our religious leaders to be Godly and Holy people.

II. These are the people we are supposed to stay away from - and certainly not become!

A. People who manipulate others to fulfill their own desires

B. Those who forever follow new teachings but never learn truth

C. Ones who fight against the simple wisdom of God’s word

D. Fools! They are …

III. There Is A Distinct Difference Between A Real Disciple of Christ & An Imposter

A. True disciples are not always supported by the masses but are often pressured to compromise & quit holding to their strict standards

1. Standards of ethics

2. Standards of values

3. Standards of morals

4. Standards of Godliness

B. While Imposters seem to receive support, and they increase

1. This encourages them to continue the deception

2. They fool others and eventually even fool themselves

One of the most dangerous things about deception is that it is so deceptive.

If you were truly deceived, would you know it?

There must of necessity be a standard we all adhere to.

The standard is known as God’s Way!

IV. What Can We Do? (beginning in verse 14)

A. We must Remain faithful to the scriptures

1. Knowing they are true

2. Trusting those who taught them to you

B. The Scriptures give us wisdom to receive salvation

C. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful:

1. To teach us what is true

2. To make us realize what is wrong in our lives

3. To straighten us out

4. To teach us to do what is right

V. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way.

1. To fully equip us

2. To do what God wants us to do.

VI. Now For The Rest Of The Story

A. Talking about imposters - religious people who seem spiritual but are living substandard Christian lives - perhaps they are:

1. Immoral

2. Unethical

3. Ungrateful

4. Unholy

5. Those who love themselves and their money more than God

6. Seeking only the pleasures this life can give them

7. Perhaps they are out of control

B. What is their real problem?

2 Timothy 3:5 They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly … (NLT)

The King James Version puts it this way:

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof …

C. These are people who fall into a trap of acting religious, acting spiritual and having the appearance of being Godly, but actually they reject the power of God, denying, not accepting into their lives that power which would actually make them Godly. What power is this?

D. The power which comes only from one source - God’s power:

* The Word of God!

> John 1:3 & Colossians 1:16 & Hebrews 1:3

VII. It Is The Word - (John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word … )

A. The Word of God as revealed in The Holy Bible - Each and Every Scripture contained therein is:

1. Inspired by God

2. Profitable to teach us what is true

3. Makes us realize what is wrong in our lives

4. Straightens us out

5. Teaches us to do what is right

B. This Is God’s Way

Don’t be deceived … learn, trust in and accept God’s Word as truth.

Matthew 22:29 Jesus replied, "Your problem is that you dont know the Scriptures, and you dont know the power of God. (NLT)

It really is that simple! It’s just God’s way.