The Angel Of The Lord – Part 2 of 2

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. For the most part, angels are anonymous. Only two have names we see in the Bible. One of them was Gabriel, who told Mary that she would bear the Christ child. Today on Running to Win, we'll meet this famous angel and see what he had to say.

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 you'll be contrasting modern culture's view of angels with the revelation we see in Scripture.

Well, you know, Dave, one of the biggest differences is, in popular culture, it is believed that all angels do everything that is good for human beings, when the Bible clearly says that they are given especially to those who are heirs of salvation. And of course, we know in the spirit world there are tremendous battles that are going on. Well, as we think about Christmas and then we think about the New Year, this is one of the last days we are making available to you a daily devotional entitled God's Best for My Life by Lloyd John Ogilvy. And after this message, I'm going to be telling you about December 20th, what you would be reading if you had this devotional as you go through it day by day, month by month, and of course, throughout the whole year. This past fall, I had a book signing at a New Age bookstore, was signing the book The Da Vinci Deception, and had an interesting time. And as I left, I took a catalog from the bookstore to see what it is that people are reading today. The catalog had a lead article by a woman who wrote a book entitled Archangels and Ascended Masters. And in the lead article, she said that what we need to do is to invite angels into our dreams. And then I discovered that we could get in touch with the angel inside of you, that was the title of another book, and get to know your guardian angel. You could go to that bookstore or other bookstores in the area and probably find 100 books on angels and how to get in touch with them and to communicate with them and profit from what they know. This present angel craze that we are living in, which has gone on for a number of years, is based on three false assumptions. Assumptions which are not, of course, a part of the, or I should say, are a part of the present emphasis on angels. First of all, the first false assumption is that all angels are good. There are no bad angels out there.

They're all good. They're all masters of wisdom, and they're all going to help you. Now, of course, the Bible makes a very great distinction between holy angels, sometimes referred to as the elect angels, and then unclean spirits who can also transform themselves into angels of light. Like the woman I was sitting next to on the plane who received angels into her, but she said she received not the dark ones, but only those that came to her as messengers of light.

She was into reincarnation. I tried to help her see that the Bible has something to say about how Satan comes to people as an angel of light. Here's a second assumption that is made, and that is that these good angels assist everyone.

Doesn't matter what you believe. This is the basis of the popular television program Touched by an Angel. Isn't it just a feel-good story about how angels are out there helping people, touching them, and it doesn't matter what they believe, doesn't matter what religion they belong to. They are equal opportunity servants, and so society buys into that, but it's a false assumption. There's a third, and that is that angels are more accessible to us than God.

Let me read Time magazine. For those who choke too easily on God and his rules, angels are the handy compromise. Full of fluff, kind, non-judgmental, they are available to everyone just like aspirin. And so the idea is that angels are ageless wisdom reaching out to us. This is a revival of what is known as ancient Gnosticism, where angels played a great part as emanations from God and ways to get to God.

Very probably the Apostle Paul had something like this in mind when he warned in the book of Colossians, and he said these words to the people as a warning. Let no one disqualify you insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and certainly we have people today puffed up by their visions, and not holding fast to the head from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. Paul says don't get involved in the veneration of angels. Don't get caught up in the angel craze. Now that said, the Bible has much to say about angels, and we're going to be learning some of those things today, and particularly as it relates to the angel Gabriel. His name actually means the mighty one of God. Only two angels in the Bible are actually listed by name.

One is Michael, the great archangel, who always seems to be fighting or preventing fights, and then you have the angel Gabriel, who is referred to four times in Scripture. The book of Daniel, Daniel is having this vision and he can't understand it, and the angel Gabriel comes to him and reveals the nuances of the revelation. That's in Daniel chapter 8.

In chapter 9, the very same thing occurs. Gabriel comes to him and tells him what it is that he's seeing. Five hundred years later, Gabriel comes to talk to Mary about the birth of Jesus. By the way, do you think he aged?

How would you look 500 years from now? Well, the answer is he looked the very same way because angels are ageless. They do not get old. They don't get old, and angels are created by God. I love that phrase in Psalm 148 where it says he commanded and they were created.

Don't you wish that you had that kind of power to command and it would happen? Bible says regarding angels, God commanded and ex nihilo, out of nothing, they were created. And they stand in the presence of God. The text in the Old Testament says that God is on his throne and to the right 10,000 of angels and to his left 10,000 of angels, and there they are in the presence of the Almighty. All of which leads us now to Luke chapter 1.

If you have your Bibles, I'd appreciate if you'd follow with me. Luke chapter 1, as we look at the story of Gabriel and his coming to Mary to reveal to her the great news. It says in verse 26 of Luke chapter 1, in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee. How is Luke marking time? Well, in context, it's been six months since Elizabeth has conceived.

That's what the preceding paragraph is about. So in sequence, he's talking about that in her sixth month, that would be Elizabeth's. The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David and the virgin's name was Mary. First of all, Gabriel was sent by God. Now, in order to understand the significance of this, there's a text in first Peter chapter 1 verse 12. It tells us that the prophets were always looking forward to the day when Jesus would be born, but they couldn't figure out the time. They made prophecies that were something like looking at mountains.

You can see the mountains, but you don't know the distance between the various peaks. And so they would spend time saying, all right, there is this piece of the puzzle that's in place, there's this piece, but when is it going to happen? And they couldn't figure it out. And the Bible says, these are the sorts of things in which the angels desire to look into.

My translation says they long to look into these matters. So because salvation interests the angels a great deal, and can you imagine now, God brings the angel Gabriel into his presence and says, Gabriel, I have your most important assignment ever. Now is the time. Now is the time. Gabriel, don't get this wrong.

All right. The region is Galilee. The town is Nazareth. The woman is a virgin, not just any virgin, but she's the one who is betrothed to a man whose name is Joseph. And by the way, Gabriel, her name is Mary.

Do you have that? Repeat it back to me just so that you get this straight. Zip code, street number, house address. It had to be exact. And by the way, Gabriel, if you get there and you're a little bit confused, just talk to me and I'll give you more specificity. Get this right.

This is the moment. So the angel comes. Now angels are localized. When the angel Gabriel is in Nazareth, he can't be in Jerusalem and he can't be in the presence of God in heaven at the same time. They can travel quickly, but they can only be in one place at one time.

So Gabriel here is able to travel. And many angels probably are assigned to certain positions here on earth. They may be assigned to us, perhaps as guardian angels, but they can travel between earth and heaven very quickly. And notice the obedience of these angels. It says in Psalm 103 verse 20 that the angels of God do his bidding.

They stand waiting for a command. There is no disobedience on the part of these angels. Could you imagine an angel having his own agenda? An angel that just said to himself, well, you know, I'm going to serve God, but I've got my own thing going on on the side. No, that's what some angels said. And they ended up on the other side of the great divide.

Bad idea. Those are the evil angels. These angels have only one mission. How do I bring glory to God? When God says it, I do it. And for that they exist.

And in that sense, they become our model. I wonder if Jesus might have even had this in mind when he gave us the, what we call today the Lord's prayer. When he said these words, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Possibly what Jesus had in mind is just as the angels in heaven obey God and his commands.

May that be also true upon earth. That when I command my people, obey angels model obedience. You say, well, does God always need angels? No, of course he doesn't need angels. Sometimes he acts independently of them, but he wills to use them. Does God need us?

Of course he doesn't need us. He could get the gospel out in many other creative ways that might even be better. But God in his sovereign wisdom and goodness decided to include us in his program to accomplish his will. And in the very same way, he created myriads of angels that they too might get him glory and model obedience to the most high. Gabriel was sent by God. Secondly, Gabriel understood God's word.

Now let's pick up the text. It says that he said to her, greetings, old favored one, the Lord is with you. Verse 29, but she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God and behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the most high and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom.

There will be no end. Three things that Gabriel says about Jesus and then three job descriptions that will involve Jesus. The first is his name shall be called Jesus, savior, Yeshua, Messiah. You're going to bear him Mary. Second, he shall be great and most assuredly he shall be great and he shall be the son of the most high, which indicates his rank, his position, and even his eternality as the son of God. So Mary, just understand that this is not an ordinary baby. You are going to bear Messiah. And then he goes on to say that he will have a throne, he will have a house, and he will have a kingdom.

He will reign over the house of David. Now I have to ask you, how do you think Mary understood this? Do you think that she understood this to mean that Jesus was going to rule in heaven?

I don't think so. I think she actually thought that Jesus was going to rule over the territory over which David ruled. That there is a coming kingdom yet on this earth when the law shall go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem and they shall beat their swords into plow shears and their spears into pruning hooks and there's going to be a time of peace and prosperity and Jesus is going to rule.

I think that's the way in which he understood it. But I want you to know that Gabriel here is quoting scriptures. Second Samuel chapter 7 verse 16 and oftentimes passages of scripture which may not intrigue us may really intrigue angels who are interested in God's purposes and ways in the world. So he understands the word of God and connects this word with the birth of the Messiah and then he understands God's ways because she quite naturally asks him how shall this be verse 34 because I am a virgin and the angel answered her the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you therefore the child will be born who will be born will be called holy the Son of God. Gabriel says you have to understand something Mary we're talking about a God of miracles a God who can overshadow you and you don't need this child does not need a father. One day I was talking to a young man who was pastor of a small church and he said I'm going to resign and I'm going to go to university going to go to seminary and I said why he said because there was someone in my church who didn't believe in the virgin birth and so he said I need to be able to answer how that could come about. I said well it's good that you want to go to seminary and university but I want you to know that you will not discover through your studies how that can come about because that is a miracle that is done by God and only God knows how he does miracles only God knows how he creates.

You've heard me say that if you want to be like God take nothing into the laboratory and and stay there as long as you need to until you create a molecule out of nothing but like I always say take your lunch you're going to be there a very long time. We don't know how God did it God can do it and and today the virgin birth in the minds of some people is optional you know it's optional to believe in the virgin birth. There are pastors here in this city who are teaching today at Christmas time that it's optional that you believe in the virgin birth. What they do not understand is it is necessary to our faith because the virgin birth preserves the sinlessness of Jesus. If Jesus had been a sinner he couldn't be a redeemer because he could not be a part of our predicament and redeem us and so his sinlessness had to be preserved and so it was a miraculous conception and Gabriel understands this and says to her I love verse 37 for nothing will be impossible with God we're not dealing here with human medical limitations nothing is going to be impossible with God and Mary says behold behold the servant of the Lord let it be to me according to your word and the angel Gabriel departs from her.

Can't you imagine him going back to heaven and giving a report and saying God just want you to know mission accomplished right woman right message right answer it's all been done and Gabriel awaits his next assignment. Can you imagine the excitement the angels must have as God gives them commands that they respond to and of course in very explicit obedience they return to the father and they can say it has been done as you have commanded. What wonderful things go on in the spirit world. Well this is one of the last days we are making a very special devotional available for you as you think about the brand new year. It's entitled God's Best for My Life. Now I have the book in my hands and it's open to December 20th so you would be reading as you read this page with all of this encouraging information this is a sentence that stood out to me.

Joy grows in the assurance that God will use everything that happens to us or around us for our ultimate good and for his glory. I emphasize that because this devotional will bless you 365 days of the brand new year. Now for a gift of any amount it can be yours here's what you do go to rtwoffer.com that's rtwoffer.com or you can pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. Now because January 1st is coming up very quickly I'm going to be giving you that contact info again but before I do thank you so much for your support of this ministry. You've probably heard me say this before but I like to repeat it that the ministry of running to win continues to grow even as we send the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world but it's because of people like you your prayers and your gifts. Hope that you have a pen or pencil handy. What you can do is go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Remember the name of the devotional God's Best for My Life by Lloyd John Ogilvy.

Prepare for the brand new year. And now for another chance for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Here's a quick question from a running to win listener Dr. Lutzer. Is there a difference between the resurrected body of Jesus as seen in the last part of the gospel accounts and the ascended body he has in the book of Revelation? This is an excellent question and I think that the answer is yes but there of course is a difference. You know if you read Revelation chapter 1 that awesome awesome vision that John has of the resurrected Christ it takes your breath away just thinking about it and trying to visualize it. So yes I think that the body that Jesus had when he left this earth is the same body that he has in heaven today but what we see in the book of Revelation is that body glorified in a way that it wasn't even when Jesus was here on earth.

Same body. I believe that someday we will see the nail prints in his hands but at the same time Jesus will be glorified in a way that he was not glorified when he was here on earth and that makes sense. You see because even after he was crucified and was raised from the dead his disciples interacted with him. Mary didn't even recognize him at the beginning.

It had to be that way. He couldn't be glorified as he is in heaven today because no one would be able to grasp it. No one would be able to even look upon him. So same body I believe but glorification makes the difference. Thank you Dr. Lutzer. If you'd like to hear your question answered you can. Just go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer or call us at 1-888-218-9337.

That's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60614. Very few of us have ever seen an angel or will ever see one. Imagine the impact such a visitation had on a young girl in Israel millennia ago. Next time on Running to Win, more about Gabriel and teaching on the biblical doctrine of angels. Make plans to join us. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.