Christ And The Angels - C

Jack Hibbs: There are guardian angels. They truly are guardian angels. That's not a myth, it's not something made up. In two passages of scripture at least, every Christian has at least one angel that has been with her or him and stays with her or him.
David J.: This is Real Life. Welcome to Real Life Radio with Pastor Jack Hibbs. I'm David J. thanking you for joining us today as we listen, learn, and are challenged by God's word, the Bible. Hey everybody, we want you to be aware of a great book and please listen up. Our friend Charlie Kirk, right before he was assassinated, Charlie Kirk had finished up a book titled Stop in the Name of God. And I gotta tell you, friends, you're gonna want to get a copy. It teaches you how to rest in our Lord Jesus Christ. Stop in the Name of God by Charlie Kirk. Get a copy for yourself. It's the featured item for this September. That's Stop in the Name of God by Charlie Kirk. Get your copy at jackhibbs.com. On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues his series now called The Life and Times of Jesus Christ and a message titled Christ and the Angels. Now this is a series about who Jesus really is, not the Jesus of popular opinion, but the Jesus of the Bible, God himself who stepped into our world. And in this message, we'll discover that Jesus is the very one who created the angels. You see, people are fascinated by angels, but most of what we picture is wrong. The Bible shows us powerful, awesome creatures who worship God without ceasing. And the amazing truth is that Jesus Christ himself made them. So today Pastor Jack teaches that angels reveal God and minister to believers, even escorting us into his presence at death. But that comfort belongs only to those who truly know Christ. Now with his message called Christ and the Angels, here's pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.
Jack Hibbs: Now for the first time in all eternity, God was being born through Mary in the person of Jesus Christ, veiled in human skin. And the word implies that angels gawk at his delivery. With all due respect, they could have been saying, "He's got black hair! I can see the top of his head! He's got ears just like they do! Here he comes! He's so small! He's a human! He took upon himself the form of a human! Look at him, our Creator, veiled, draped in human skin!" They gawked at him because they had never had a chance to gawk at him before. What an incredible sight that must have been. Their purpose was to reveal God. They were so excited. What did they do? "Hey, all you shepherds, listen up! Today born in the city of David is Christ the Lord, the King!" That's awesome to me. He revealed God also by strengthening Jesus' resolve. How so? Well, they strengthened his resolve by visiting Jesus in Luke chapter 22 verse 40. They visited Jesus, it says there in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was praying and he sweat as it were great drops of blood and an angel came, or the angels came, and strengthened him. He saw the heavenly perspective and he was strengthened. They strengthened his resolve. They helped him in his hour of trial. They revealed the will of God and the purpose of God by proclaiming his victory. In Matthew chapter 28 verses 1 through 6, the Bible says now after the Sabbath, on the first day of the week, it began to dawn and Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake. Now why do you think there was an earthquake? Well, it says because the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and he came and he rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it. Isn't that kind of sassy? He just earthquake rolls back the door and then he sits on it like, "What's up?" He sits on it. Why? To let God out? No, to let the disciples in. He sits on it. And it says there in the scriptures, Matthew 28:3, it says that his countenance was like lightning. Wow, that's awesome. Remember they didn't have sunglasses in those days. His face was like lightning. His clothes were as white as snow and the Roman guards shook for fear because of him and they became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, "Don't be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He's not here. He's risen from the dead. Come and see the place where the Lord laid." Past tense. He's gone. They revealed God by assisting him or they shall assist him at his second coming. The great second coming of Christ, which is at least seven years and one day away. Matthew 25 verse 31, it says, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then he shall sit upon the throne of his glory." And you ought to read the fine print. That means his throne in the city of Jerusalem. I mean, listen, Yasser Arafat, Jesus is going to sit on the throne in Jerusalem. Listen to that, Bill Clinton, Jesus is going to sit on the throne in Jerusalem. Barack, Jesus is going to sit on the throne in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, the most hotly contended city on the face of the earth today, just as the prophets foretold. Matthew 24 verse 30 concerning his coming, it says, "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the atmosphere and then the tribes that live upon the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming with clouds in the heavens and the power and great glory. And he will send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet." Isn't that going to be awesome? That's the second coming by the way, not the rapture, the second coming. The next thing that we see this morning is very important, our second point today, and that is Christ and the eternal angels. We need to pick up the speed—or I mean, you're fine, I need to pick up the pace. Christ and the eternal angels. Eternal angels are in the sense that they were created. Once they've been created, they live forever, okay? You got that? Once having been created, they live forever. They're not eternal in the sense that God is. God has never had a beginning, he'll never have an end. Angels had a beginning, but they'll never have an end. You know anybody else who's had a beginning but will never have an end? Yeah, all of us. Every human being has a beginning, but they will never have an end. They will either have an eternal joy in heaven or they'll have an eternal death in hell. But the death—read again the fine print—is a living death. Those of the people who inherit hell, they live forever in hell in a living death. It's terrible. But the first thing we see here concerning Christ and the eternal angels is that they have personality. Yes, they're eternal, but they have personality. They're curious. Did you know that? They're curious angels. In 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 12, they're curious. Now this kind of ought to get your attention. It says to them it was revealed that not to themselves, but to us, that is the modern-day believer. We have the full counsel of God, the Bible. But to us, they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. These things angels desire to look into. Isn't that neat? They're curious. Angels want to hear what's being preached in this church and they listen in. The word desire here is a very interesting word. They with expectancy listen in and watch. They rejoice. Angels, they're found in the Bible to get angry. Angels can get angry. Angels care. Angels fight. Did you know that? They fight. By the way, listen carefully, don't misquote me. I'm going to say this carefully. It's going to raise some eyebrows, but this is what your Bible says. For some reason, we think angels are only masculine in gender, that there's only male angels. Did you know that's not true? It's not true that there's only male angels. First of all, we do know that they're all, except in one case, mentioned as male in the male gender and both Hebrew and Greek in the masculine. But the scripture says that in Matthew chapter 22, angels are not allowed to reproduce. It doesn't say they can't. It just says that they're not allowed to reproduce. Matthew chapter 22 verses 29 to 30. But they're not all male. How do we know that? Zechariah 5 verse 9. Zechariah 5:9 says, "Then I raised my eyes and I looked and there was two women coming with the wind in their wings and they had wings like the wings of a stork and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth." Interesting. The only reference we know of in the scriptures, Zechariah 5:9, of angelic beings of a female gender. But we always see them in the New Testament as male. Just thought I'd throw that out to confuse you or upset you, one or the other. Angels have personality and also they have a ranking order. They have ranks of authority and position. 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 22. They have a ranking order. For it is Jesus who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, and of the angels, and of authorities, and of the powers, having been made subject to Christ. What is? Angels, authorities, and powers. All of that is speaking of angelic entities of power, spirit beings, angels. They have different authority. They have different power. Ephesians chapter 6 verse 12. I know I'm going fast, but I gotta go. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Are you ready? But against principalities, that's a rank of angelic being, against powers, against rulers in dark places, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly realm. That's what the Christian's up against. That ought to cheer you up today. But thank God, the Bible says in 1 John 4 verse 4 that greater is he that is in us than he that's in the world. That's good news.
David J.: You're listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs. To learn more about this ministry or to catch up on some previous episodes, go to jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. And now, let's get back to today's message. Once again, here's Pastor Jack.
Jack Hibbs: And by the way, I need to hurry so I'm just going to tell you, you can look at Revelation chapter 12. There's a lot of angels. How many? We don't know. The word in Greek is an innumerable amount. Can't count them. It's impossible. I'm going to give you some of these ranking orders real quick. There's only one archangel named in the Bible. There's only one named. There's more than one, but there's only one named. Anybody know his name? Good, Michael. Michael, his name means who is like God? It's not he's like God. His name is a question. Who is like God? Isn't that neat? He always shows up and his name means who's like God? It's almost like he wants to take on somebody, which is exactly where you find Michael every time he appears in the Bible. He's fighting. Alright, who's like God? You think you're like God? He shows up in the Old Testament and he knocks people out. I mean not people, other angels. He gets in a confrontation with Satan himself, Michael does. He gets in a confrontation with the demonic forces regarding the area of Persia. You can look at that in Daniel chapter 10. He's an archangel. Jot this verse down, 1 Thessalonians 4:16. When Jesus comes to rapture the church out of the earth, the announcement, or one of the announcements, there's three of them, one of those great announcements is with the voice of the archangel. Wow. Archangel, that's a rank. Another rank is a ruling angel. Ephesians 3:10. There are ruling angels. They're less than an archangel, but they're ruling angels. That's found in Ephesians 3:10. And here you go, everyone's going to want this one. There are guardian angels. They truly are guardian angels. That's not a myth, it's not something made up. In two passages of scripture at least, every Christian has at least one angel that has been with her or him and stays with her or him. Listen to this: Hebrews chapter 1 verse 14. Hebrews 1:14 concerning guardian angels, it says, "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?" Interesting. Also, Matthew 18:10. Matthew 18:10, Jesus is, "Take heed that you do not despise the least of these little children, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who's in heaven." Wow. There's two passages of scripture that speak of angels guarding over the life of the believer. There's Seraphim. There's Seraphim in Isaiah chapter 6 verses 1 through 3. Seraphim, S-E-R-A-P-H-I-M. Seraphim. Isaiah 6:1 through 3. There are Cherubim. That's another I-M in Hebrew plural. C-H-E-R-U-B-I-M. Cherubim. You know who's the most famous Cherub of them all? Yeah, some of you aren't sure or you're just whispering it. It's Satan himself. Satan is a Cherub. He's not a Seraphim and he's not an archangel. He's a Cherub. How do you know? Ezekiel 28:14 calls him a Cherub. There's elect angels. Elect angels. 1 Timothy 5:21. 1 Timothy 5:21 says there are elect angels. And then sadly, I'll give you this and we have to go quickly, there are fallen angels. Angels who were once holy, like Lucifer, whose name means the son of the morning. When he fell, God renamed him diabolos. It's the root word to diabolical. The one who destroys, the accuser, the attacker of the brethren. Satan. The Bible calls him in the book of Revelation the serpent. 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 4 speaks about him. Jude 1 verse 6 speaks about him. Isaiah 14:9 through 12 speaks about Lucifer the fallen angel. And by the way, there are more than one fallen angel. There are fallen angels. The book of Revelation tells us that when Satan fell, he took with him one-third of that innumerable host with him. Amazing. The third look in this second point is that angels have an eternal existence. They have an eternal existence. And I just need you to note that down. You can read that throughout scripture. Just jot this verse down: Luke chapter 20 verse 36. They live forever. By the way, in a negative sense, Matthew 25:41, in a negative sense, they live eternally. Matthew 25:41 says that the fallen angels, with all those humans which rebel against God, it says that hell has been created for the devil and his what? Angels. And they'll be tormented there forever. And by the way, so will all those who reject Christ. Very quickly, third point and we'll be done at this point: Christ and the ministering angels. They minister. Psalm 103 verse 21. Psalm 103:21 says, "Bless the Lord, all you hosts, you ministers of his who do his pleasure." And that's a reference to angelic beings. They minister before the throne of God. They do that day and night, they never cease. They're there right now, even though there are some here right now. Secondly, they minister throughout eternity, forever. They're not only before the throne of God, they're there forever. And we looked at that in earlier scriptures. We'll get to the part that I want to spend a little bit of time on, and that is they ministered to all believers. How? Jot this down quick. I know it's late, but I'm the one in trouble, not you. They help us in this life, currently. They are actually physically helping us in this life. Hebrews again 1:14. They help us in this life. Listen, they are at work when prayer is answered. Acts chapter 12. They're praying that Peter would be released and what happens? Peter's in prison and the church is praying for his release and what happens? An angel comes out of heaven and sets Peter loose. Sets him free. They observe our lives. 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 9 says that they watch us. Even if you're alone, they're watching. They watch our lives. They observe us. And in the same light, they are actually watching over us. Acts chapter 27 verse 23. They watch over us. Acts 27:23, they're watching over us. By the way, and I love this verse, they participate in evangelism. Whenever we share Christ, you know what they do? They get all ready to have a party. Every time we share Christ, according to Luke 15 verse 10, that when one sinner comes to the knowledge of God and repents, the angels rejoice in heaven. Isn't that neat? I love it. They escort us into God's presence at death. Angels. The moment we die, they take us into the presence of the Lord. Acts chapter 12 and Luke chapter 16. And then we'll end here, truly, really we will. They minister onto the world. And I wish I had better news about this one. Mostly it's in the area of judgment. When I say the world, that is the unbelieving world. In Revelation 15 verse 1, John says, "I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, there were seven angels each having seven plagues, which were the wrath of God and it was complete." The Bible tells us throughout the book of Revelation, they visit the earth with wrathful judgments that come from God. Concerning the life of the Iraqi king or Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, the Bible says in Daniel chapter 4, it says quote verse 17, "This decision was by the decree of a watcher, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones, angels, in order that the king may know that the Most High God reigns in the kingdoms and the affairs of men." That he was turned into a beast, he went insane for seven seasons. How was that decreed? By the eyes of a watcher. A watcher. Daniel chapter 4:17. Amazing. I want to say this in closing right now. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ will send forth his angels in two separate great events. When he raptures the church out of the earth for his believers, the angels will come with him. And then in the second coming, the angels will come and we with them in the great and cataclysmic events of the second coming. And then it says there in the second coming, don't make any mistake about it, it says and then Jesus will send forth his angels into all the four corners of the earth and gather together his elect, that is those who have believed in him. And it says that there will be a great gathering, Matthew chapter 25, and there Christ will judge those living beings upon the earth. And he says that there will be some who live into the kingdom age prepared for them, but the others, the angels, the reapers they're called, will take those who do not believe in Christ and they will be taken away into judgment. And I want to ask you this morning, where will you be in that moment? Where will you be today if you die? Where will you be if Christ returns at this moment for his church? Do angels scare you? The thought of meeting one? It should terrify you unless you have a relationship with Jesus. Because if an angel shows up in your life and you're a believer in Christ Jesus, born again, then he's there for a purpose of ministry and instruction. But if an angel shows up and you don't know Christ, I would probably venture to say your number's about up and I would tremble. Do you know Christ Jesus personally? You need to because in the end Jesus says, "I will stand before my Father which is in heaven and if you know me, I will acknowledge you before my Father and all of my holy angels. But if you deny me in this earth, I will deny you before my Father in heaven and before all these holy angels." Have you accepted Christ today? I hope so. If not, you need to.
David J.: Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs here on Real Life Radio and his message called Christ and the Angels. Thanks for spending part of your day with us today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called The Life and Times of Jesus Christ. It's a series about the real Jesus of the Bible, God in the flesh, and why knowing him more deeply changes everything. And we'll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio. So, as you heard from our broadcast, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And if you'd like to know what a commitment to Christ can mean in your life personally, we would love to help you out with that. Go to jackhibbs.com/knowgod. That's K-N-O-W god. And there you'll be guided through what a commitment to Christ can mean in your life and the freedom that you'll find in knowing God. Don't miss out. That's the Know God tab at jackhibbs.com. Hey, thank you again so much for listening. And if you'd like to hear or see more of what we do here, you can always go to jackhibbs.com for all the latest on what's going on with this ministry. And please, if you're ever in the Southern California area, come see us at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills. We'd love to see you there in person. It has been so good to be with you today and I pray you find yourself in the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. See you on the next episode. This program is made possible by the generous contributions of you, our listeners. Visit us at jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. Until next time, Pastor Jack Hibbs and all of us here at Real Life Radio wish for you solid and steady growth in Christ and in his word. We'll see you next time here on Real Life Radio.