The Mystery Of The Angels Part 1

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.

One day, a brilliant light flooded the skies over a sleepy town south of Jerusalem. Myriads of angels announced the coming of a Savior who was Christ the Lord. These messengers of God proclaimed the greatest news sinful mankind would ever hear.

Stay with us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, today we continue a Christmas series on the mystery of Bethlehem, and we'll be talking about angels. And you know, Dave, I've often thought about angels. And of course, as all of us know, if our eyes were opened, we might be surprised at the number of angels that are surrounding us. And the thing that I find so fascinating is that even though we will be above them in the heavenly kingdom, we will be heirs of God, joint heirs with Jesus, which they can never have. They have no envy. They rejoice in our salvation.

That's why that account in the book of Luke about the angels telling about the birth of Christ is so fascinating. Well, my friends, if you have been blessed as a result of the ministry of Running to Win, would you consider making a year-end gift? As you probably know, our ministry is listener supported. Thanks in advance for helping us. Here's what you can do. Go to RTWOffer.com. That's RTWOffer.com. As you might guess, RTWOffer is all one word.

Or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Thanks for holding hands with us as we desire to get the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. Yes, here at the Moody Church, we believe. We believe in the divinity of Jesus. We believe that he was virgin born, and we believe in angels.

They actually do exist. We take the Christmas story as it is written, because we believe it all. And of course, on days like this, as we celebrate Christmas, we often sing and we sing songs such as Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Glory to the Newborn King. We speak about angels because the Bible speaks about angels. And yet today, we live in a day and age when there is an angel craze.

I think it began maybe 20 or 30 years ago. People began to buy not just images of angels, but they began to pray to angels. You go in a bookstore today and you can find books such as An Angel and the Archangel and Grand Masters. I saw a book one day that says, find the angel within you.

Well, my dear friend, keep looking because he's not there, I can assure you. There's no angel within you or within me. And all of this talk about angels today in society actually is loaded with cultural theology. Even shows such as Touched by an Angel filled with a cultural view of God and a cultural view of angels. For example, one of the things that is believed is that all angels are good. Well, the Bible teaches that not all angels are good. There were some angels that were the elect angels preserved by God from falling. But then there were those who were the evil angels.

If we interpret Revelation correctly, one third of the heavenly host, they fell. And the Bible talks about the devil and his angels. The word angel means messenger. And so we speak about the devil's angels as well. And both of these kinds of angels are in the atmosphere.

Both are probably with us this morning almost certainly. And when you begin to go into spirituality via angels, you never know what kind of an angel you're going to connect with. And the evil angels, the Bible says, come as angels of light, even though they are angels of darkness. Something else that is believed today is that these angels exist. And of course, it is believed that all angels are good and that they exist to assist anyone no matter who he or she is, no matter what they believe. But the Bible says that God's angels, the good angels, are sent to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. You say, is there such a thing as a guardian angel? The closest Jesus taught that was found in Matthew chapter 18, where Jesus makes the statement regarding children. He says, their angels behold the face of my father who is in heaven.

That does a number of things, that text. First of all, it shows that when infants die, I have no doubt that they go to heaven because they are next to the father and their angels behold the father's face. But it implies that maybe we are given an angel. Maybe we do have an angel, but as the old commercial used to say it, remember that angels that guard you when you drive officially retire at 65. So keep that in mind. Another belief is that angels are more accessible than God.

I have this quotation from Time magazine. For those who choke too easily on God, his rules and his judgments, angels are a handy companion full of fluff, non-judgmental, available to everyone just like aspirin. And so you have today people who are into angels and the Bible warns against an over veneration of angels. It does that in the book of Colossians because people are always tempted to somehow think that angels are more friendly than God and I can contact an angel.

Don't do it. We know that they exist. We know that they help us. We don't see them, but don't begin to connect with them nor worship them.

That would be horrid. The Bible says this regarding angels. It says God commanded and they were created.

I don't know about you, but I love texts like that from the Psalms. God commanded and they were created. God says, I want myriads and myriads of angels and he spoke the word and there they were created out of nothing long before the creation of the world took place because they were on hand when the world was created.

And so God created angels for the same reason that he created us, for his own good pleasure and because he fought it best. They are intelligent beings. They have a will.

That's why some of them rebelled. They have the ability to know things and much that they know is taught of them by God and much that they know they learn by observation because they don't know everything. They're in the learning business also as we shall see and yet they are created by God. And by the way, that's why a fortune teller who may have a divining spirit, an evil spirit to be sure, may know more than you do about your future, but not infallibly, not infallibly because the devil knows what's happening. He can better predict what's going to happen, but guess what? The devil is not able to know the future with accuracy.

The future is in God's hands alone. Well, Luke chapter two, Luke chapter two, this is actually the third in a series of messages entitled The Mystery of Bethlehem. First of all, the mystery of the baby. Last time it was the mystery of the manger and today we come to the mystery of angels and we shall have a brief biblical study regarding angels. You know that the book of Luke opens not just with the angels of Bethlehem, but angels come to a man and an angel comes to the man Zachariah and then the angel Gabriel comes to Mary in chapter one of the book of Luke. Interestingly, Gabriel occurs four times in the Bible. For example, he's in the book of Daniel.

He's there too. Now he shows up 500 years later and one of the things we notice about him is that he has not aged and that's something and he's been around for 500 years, probably have been around for 5,000 years or more and 100 million years from now. He won't look any older than he did when he appeared to Mary and guess what?

You won't either. You're getting a brand new body if you know Christ and you are not going to ever age. Don't you look forward to that day? Isn't that wonderful? Do I have a witness out there today? Now these angels come and you'll notice that they go where they are sent. Chapter 2 verse 8 and in the same region there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night.

An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were filled with fear and the angels said to them fear not for behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people for unto you is born this day in the city of David as Savior who is Christ the Lord and this will be a sign for you you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. Before we look at these angels let me say that they went where they were sent. Wherever God sent them it says regarding Gabriel and the Lord sent the angel Gabriel to Mary and now we know that the Lord sent these angels to the shepherds. You see where they went was not their choice that was God's choice they were simply obedient to what God had told them to do and the angels didn't mind going to the lowly shepherds okay so they are outcasts but that's okay that's not the issue for the angels the angels have one desire one unbelievably pure desire and that is are we serving God acceptively?

Is God pleased? Well the next message is going to be the mystery of the shepherds but let me say that perhaps these shepherds were chosen because they were taking care of temple sheep. Taking care of temple sheep meant that those sheep that they had would someday be slaughtered as a sacrifice and Jesus was the good shepherd so God says there's some shepherds there go to them and that's where the angels go they went where they were sent. Secondly they gave the message they were given again we have to look at it from the standpoint of angels remember they were there they saw Jesus in all of his glory. You know before Jesus came to this earth and Bethlehem he existed in fact he existed from eternity past but he existed without a human body he existed as God and no doubt the angels understood the trinity much better than we do but they knew something of the glory and the majesty of Christ in ways that you and I can perhaps talk about but we simply don't understand the angels understood that therefore they knew how far he had come they knew that this humiliation in Bethlehem was mind-boggling because they knew who Jesus really was and now the angel comes and we don't know that this is the angel Gabriel it says an angel of the Lord not the angel but an angel of the Lord maybe Gabriel he comes and he gives the good news the glory of God that left the temple during the days of Ezekiel was returning to the area the glory of the Lord shone around them the Bible says and so in the midst of this the angel gives instruction and says go find the baby and this is how you're going to identify him go to Bethlehem the city of David you will find him wrapped in cloths last time I explained the swaddling clothes the strips of cloth and he will be lying in a manger now a baby born in Bethlehem was not unusual a baby wrapped in these strips of cloth would not be unusual but surely to find a baby in a manger would be very unusual and that's the way the shepherds would know that they had found the right baby they give them this news that Christ the Savior has been born the angels have very good theology they understand who Jesus is and then suddenly the Bible says there was with the angel I'm in verse 13 now there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased they are giving a message that shall be to all people available to all people the invitation is to all people but peace will be upon those with whom God is well pleased peace will be upon those who accept this Jesus these who have their peace with God established through him I need to be candid today not everyone is better off because Jesus came in fact it was Simeon who said that this child is set for the rise and the fall of many in Israel and a sign to be opposed and Jesus himself said that if you fall upon this stone you'll be broken in humility and you'll see your sinfulness but if this stone falls on you it will crush you to powder Jesus said everybody has to deal with Jesus you say well what about people with from other religions they need to deal with Jesus too if not in this life they will deal with him in the life to come because he is the dividing line between those who have redemption and those who don't and no other teacher has the qualifications of Jesus there's nobody else out there like Jesus to be a savior from our sins he stands alone and so the angels they are the ones who are saying peace on earth and you say well you know where's the peace on earth well first of all let me say that there's peace in our hearts those of us who have trusted Christ as savior but there isn't going to be peace on earth until he returns again a second time and that will bring the peace but remember this Jesus is for the most part rejected in many nations of the world Jesus is marginalized in our own culture and in other cultures as well and so as I say not everybody is better off because Jesus came but for those who believe they've received the redemption that only God can give well here are angels they go where they're sent they deliver the message that has been given to them and then we find that they return again into heaven mission accomplished could I say briefly that there is no sorrow on earth that is unrecognized in heaven and there is no joy on earth that is unrecognized in heaven heaven and earth come together heaven might not be as far away as we sometimes think it is and these angels these angels go back to God entirely different realm the realm may be close by but because it's so different you and I can't enter into it except by death and so here are the angels returning to say we've delivered the message I think that angels are a model for us I really do that may seem unusual but let me give you some ways in which the angels of the Bible the good angels model for us what we should be first of all I think they model worship and obedience worship and obedience you know the angels just imagine this for a moment imagine this the angels the good angels totally free of sin no jealousy no self will no one upmanship no concern about what other angels are thinking about them totally completely delivered from all that and what do they do when they are free from sin they worship God and are obedient in Isaiah chapter six you remember when Isaiah saw God in the temple he said above the throne where the seraphim that's one category of angels and he says each had six wings with two he covered his face that showed that he recognized the holiness of God with two wings he covered his feet which showed his humility and with two wings he flew obedience we're here to serve you but we're here to worship you and we know who you are Lord God of hosts my friend today the freer you and I become of sin the more we die to self and to what others think the more we we die to self will and having our own way the better worshippers we will be and I think that the angels model the kind of worship that you and I should have imagined the free focused worship of those who love God and someday we're going to be like them in that regard that we won't will be free of sin as well you know Johnny Erickson Tada who is a quadriplegic and she has blessed many of us I think she's been in that wheelchair for something like 40 years and I remember being in a meeting in which she was speaking and said she said the thing that she looks forward to in heaven is not being able to throw her wheelchair aside and run to Jesus you and I might think that after 40 years of the pain that she's endured that would be her greatest desire but she said no the greatest desire is to be totally completely free of all sin free of all jealousy free of all lust free of all self-will and to be able to worship God with that kind of freedom that's the way the good angels worship him and someday you and I will worship him that way but they model the complete devotion that you and I should have to Jesus what is it God that you want whatever it is that you want we are here to be obedient and to worship you with that kind of purity I think there's another way in which the angels are a model for us not only in their worship but also in their interests in their interests now the angels were there when the worlds were created you've heard me say before that it's possible that God just lined them all up because it says the morning stars who are referred to as angels they shouted for joy at creation maybe God just lined them up and said watch this and then he spoke the world and suddenly billions of stars appeared and a moon appeared and a sun and an earth and they well what do what do angels say I don't know wow something like that so they were there they were there when man fell they saw what happened there in the garden but man took the serpent's route and that we identified ourselves with the devil they saw that that that fallen angel Satan was allowed to be in the garden so that your grandfather and grandmother mine as well sinned by taking the devil's route they were there they were pained by the decision because you see they remember some of their colleagues and they remember how those colleagues fell the one third of the angels that fell from heaven Lucifer son of the morning said I will be like the most high apparently the devil was like a choir master he was giving praise to God and making sure that all the praise was going to God and then suddenly he kept some of it for himself and it was that pride that made him rebel against God and become thoroughly and totally evil so the angels have seen all that and then they knew that there were promises of redemption and this is what the Bible says in first Peter this is in your Bible too it says in first Peter chapter one verse 12 when it's speaking of the time when the the promises are going to be fulfilled and the coming of the Messiah and so forth it says these things the prophets were trying to understand and these things the angels desire to look into the angels are fascinated by our redemption absolutely fascinated let me tell you why I think they're so fascinated by it because the angels understand things that you and I don't we know the words but they they experience what we're talking about and isn't it remarkable that someday we are going to actually see the angels and we're going to be able to behold God without any sin coming in between you know here at running to win we are so pleased when we hear testimonies of the transforming power of God's word I have in my hand for example a letter that says this program is so helpful especially through all the afflictions that we are going through today another one says after my husband abandoned me I clung to God's word listening to running to win now those testimonies represent thousands upon thousands who listen and as we near the end of this year and as you contemplate your giving would you consider joining hands with us in this ministry of running to win you frequently heard me say that we're in 20 different countries in three different languages now here's what you can do and I hope that you have a pencil handy so that you can write this down you can go to rtwoffer.com as you might guess rtwoffer is all one word rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 now because we are listener supported and we are dependent upon you let me give you that contact info again rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 think and pray about the possibility of helping us we want to thank the many friends who have already connected with us and we trust that God will bless you in the coming year and let us make sure that we are faithful all the way to the finish line you can write to us at running to win 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard Chicago Illinois 60614 running to win is all about helping you find God's roadmap for your race of life there are lots of misconceptions about angels next time on running to win we'll find out more about the purpose behind the creation of the angels and their role in the Christmas story thanks for listening for Dr. Erwin Lutzer this is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the Moody Church.