Christ And The Angels - B

Jack Hibbs: For some who have done this have unknowingly entertained and ministered to angels. What are you saying, Jack? Well, the Bible says in various places that angels have the ability to appear as mortal human beings and then disappear. Isn't that wild?
David J: 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.
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David J: On today's edition of Real Life Radio, Pastor Jack continues his series 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. 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. Today, Pastor Jack teaches us that angels have a mission to serve God, and they stand ready to do it. They minister to us, and they're at work in our lives even when we don't see them. Now, with his message called Christ and the Angels, here is pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs.
Jack Hibbs: Angels worship God, and I bet you that angels are in some sort of a shock that we don't worship God more. They must scratch their head and four faces, stroking those chins saying, "What is wrong with those people down there?" When worship is sang, why don't they all just praise God instead of thinking about the meatloaf or did I unplug the iron? Now, I just lost 50 percent of you by bringing those two topics up. They worship God with a passion. So should we. Isaiah chapter 6, verse 3 says, "And one cried, saying to another, 'Holy, holy, holy,' is the Lord of hosts, and the whole earth is full of his glory." Isaiah chapter 6, verse 3. In their creation, that is the creation of the angels, we know this, that they existed before the physical world was created. How do we know that? They existed before the physical world was created. We know that for a fact because Job chapter 38, verse 7 tells us that at his creation, the morning stars, it's another reference to angels, sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. Another reference to angels in the Old Testament is sons of God. Morning stars and sons of God. They sang at the day of creation. Isn't that neat? I wonder what they sang. I wonder how they sang. I wonder what it sounded like. It must have been incredible. We know that angels were created, as I said earlier, free moral agents or having a free moral capacity, meaning that they can choose. You and I are living in a world right now that everybody's complaining and arguing, "I want the right to choose. I want the right to perform an abortion or not. I want our right to choose this and a right to choose that." You can choose anything you want, person, anything you want, Christian or non-Christian. You can choose anything you want. Just know this: your choice will result in answering to God for your choice. You and I have been brought up in a culture that says there is no responsibility regarding our decisions. This is humanism that we live in. Go ahead and do what you want. If it feels good, do it. What they don't tell you is later you're going to reap of your bad decisions or your good decisions. Oh, every one of us have a choice. There's no doubt about it. Am I pro-choice? You bet I'm pro-choice. I think everybody should choose Jesus Christ and live. Hebrews chapter 1, verse 6 tells us, "But when he again brings forth the firstborn into the world," speaking of Jesus, "he says, 'Let all of the angels worship God.'" That's interesting. That's Hebrews 1:6. The Lord says when he brought forth Jesus, the word means brought into the world as a physical being, Christ, born in Bethlehem, the Father turned to the angelic realm and says, "All you angels, worship him." Well, they didn't get up and go, "All right." They couldn't wait to get going. I can prove this in a moment. You'll see. Revelation chapter 22, verse 9, it says an angel announces to John and the spectators, "Worship God." Listen, we know that angels possess a will and they possess emotions. Did you know that? Angels possess a will and emotions. In Luke chapter 2, verse 9 concerning angels, it says, "And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before the shepherds," that's in the hills of Bethlehem, "and the glory of the Lord shone around about them, and they were greatly afraid." Then the angel said to the shepherds, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people." That means Gentiles too. "For there is born to you this day in the city of David, the Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a food trough for cattle," or otherwise known as a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host, praising God, saying this: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men." Actually, in the Greek, it's actually this: the angels announce glory to God in the highest and among men of goodwill, peace be to them. Interesting. So great is this passion, Hebrews chapter 13, verses 1 and 2 says, "Continue to love one another as true brethren. Don't forget to be kind to strangers that might pass by." For some who have done this have unknowingly entertained and ministered to angels. What are you saying, Jack? Well, the Bible says in various places that angels have the ability to appear as mortal human beings and then disappear. Isn't that wild? I have a friend who years ago, in fact, this guy, precious man, he would get up in the morning once a week at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and go down there in the kitchen, cook breakfast for all of the men for the men's prayer breakfast. And he would prepare all of the food and then by 5:30, he would drive back home and get ready to go to his business. And this was his ministry. Nobody saw him do it. It was his thing. He was a very wealthy man, and this is the way he supplied that breakfast and he cooked it himself. On his way home, he fell asleep at the wheel of his car. And unfortunately, he was going at a very high rate of speed, and when his car went off the side of the road, he went right underneath a parked tractor-rig and trailer. And he was brutally mangled. But get a load of this. When we went to visit him in the hospital, and he wasn't even supposed to live, he said, "Jack, you wouldn't believe what happened. I was just the first, I went from cooking to driving in my memory, in my mind." And he said, "I never realized what I hit." He said, "But the car was completely trapped underneath the big rig, and the car was completely mangled." He said, "I felt no pain whatsoever, but I heard a voice say to me, 'Glenn, step out this way. Glenn, step out this way.'" And he looked and he had no strength in his body, he said, and this man opened the door for him, and he stepped out and the man held his hand and he walked about 20 feet over from the crash scene. And he sat the man down, and the man then went to the back of him and was rubbing the back of his shoulders and then vanished. The car exploded into flames, and when the paramedics from Costa Mesa PD and Fire Department showed up, the door was never opened. It was completely crushed. He was outside in a safe place, waking up to the fact that the paramedics were working on him. And he said, "Jack, it was amazing. I saw an angel." And I said, "What did he look like?" He looked like an average Joe. But he was an angel. There's no other explanation. All of the paramedics and the firefighters were shocked that such a thing happened to me. We know this from the Bible that angels appear and they actually converse with men, and then they're gone. Sometimes they give information, sometimes this or the other. We know also, and we'll talk about this later, I hope if the clock stops, that angels can also or demons or fallen angels can appear as good angels and deceive people. That's very dangerous. But they do traffic among men. Could there be one here this morning? It's possible. Be nice to strangers, he's saying to us, because one of them could be an angel. Isn't that wild? It's funny how the world you and I live in, we want to get all excited about stuff. So we'll go watch really goofy movies or challenging things, and ooh, we want to be titillated with the latest thriller. And then the Bible, to me, this is the ultimate thriller. It says, "Hey, watch how you conduct yourself around and make sure you love one another as brothers because around us may be an angel." Now that ought to freak you out. I hope an angel doesn't show up here one day and nobody says hi to him, then he goes back and tells God on us. "I went there and nobody said hi. Lord, fry them." Interesting. Secondly, we see this morning Christ and the created angels. They have a passion to worship. They also have a mission to serve God. They serve God. They love it. They love to serve the Lord. In fact, I'm sure they scratch their head and wonder why we don't serve him more. Serving him, by the way, at his temptation. They served the Lord at Jesus's temptation. Mark chapter 1, verse 13 says, "And Jesus was there in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan, and was there with the wild beasts in the mountains and the angels came and ministered to him." That had to be something. Matthew 4, verse 11, "And when Satan had left Jesus, then the angels came and ministered unto him." We also know this: that Jesus himself announced their service. John chapter 1, verse 51, Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open up and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man," referring to himself. What an awesome thing to say. Angels love to serve God. That's their mission. They have a mission to serve the Lord. Second, watch this. They are ready to serve him. They stand ready. In Matthew chapter 26, verse 53, look how ready they are. Remember when Peter was there at Jesus's arrest? And they're all there. Peter thinks he's going to save the Son of God. Pulls out a knife and runs after this guy and misses and cuts his ear off. And Jesus says to Peter and the rest of the guys, he says, "Do you not think that I can pray to my Father and he can send or provide me 12 legions of angels?" He says, "Peter, put away your sword, you crazy guy, you. If I needed deliverance, I could just say, 'Angel.'" You know, it's interesting Jesus said 12 legions of angels. Well, how many of them were there at the moment? Well, remember Judas had hung himself. So there were 11 disciples and one Jesus. I think it's neat. I think it's significant. I don't want to read too much into it. But the scripture there, Jesus says, "I can call down 12 legions. Peter, you can have a legion, Andrew, you can have a legion, and I could have a legion. We all could have a legion if I wanted to." They stand ready to serve. I like that.
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: 2 Kings chapter 19, verse 34 says there, "And I will defend this city and I will save it for my sake and for the sake of David, my servant. And that night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death 185,000 soldiers of the Assyrian army, and when the people woke up the next morning, their enemy was dead." How many angels did he send out to kill 185,000 Syrian soldiers? One. Can you imagine? 185,000 armed men. God sends one angel. Well, you've read about Moses. If you haven't read about Moses, you saw The Ten Commandments when Charlton Heston and those guys are all there. And when the death angel came through the camp to take the firstborn of those who were not hidden by the blood, one angel, the death angel, took away life in a moment. They're very powerful, very powerful indeed, and they have a mission to serve God. The third thing that we see under this heading is that they have a purpose to reveal God. They want to reveal God. They love this. And I'm going to give you some things to consider. They have a purpose to reveal God. First of all, by predicting his birth. Luke chapter 1, verse 30. Luke 1:30 says, "Then the angel said to her," that is Mary, "do not be afraid." Why? She was afraid. Don't be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. The angels predicted his birth. Also, they revealed God by announcing his birth. We read it a moment ago in Luke chapter 2, verse 8. I'll just paraphrase it, that there it says that there was a great heavenly host announcing to the shepherds that Christ the Savior had been born. We have a graphic moment in history regarding the birth of Christ, and by the way, I'll confess I try to insert this verse in every study I ever do because I love it. Are you awake? You ought to jot this one down. It's 1 Timothy 3:16. Paul with incredible confidence and great boldness says, "You cannot question what I'm about to say." He says, "This is beyond questioning. It's so factual and true. You have no ability to disprove what I'm about to say. The mystery of godliness is great. He appeared in a human body. He was vindicated by the Holy Spirit and he was seen by angels." What do you mean he was seen by angels? What a weird thing to say. Haven't angels always looked at him? The answer implies no. Do you remember earlier in the introduction I talked to you about how angels cover their faces in the presence of God? Do you know what is implied in 1 Timothy 3:16? With all due respect, listen carefully. It implies that Mary, being a good Jewish girl that she was, you know, she didn't go into the delivery room. Did you know that everybody? She was in a cave there in Bethlehem, and Bethlehem is full of caves. She went into a cave and she got either two rocks or two stools, probably two stools. Somebody, maybe it was the innkeeper, where there was no room at that inn. He might have given her two stools. It's not recorded, but he would have said, or they would have said maybe, "Can we borrow two stools? My wife is in labor." You know what she would have done? As was the Hebrew custom, she would have put two stools on the ground and squatted on those stools and gave birth to Jesus. And what is implied here, seen by angels, the word "seen" in Greek is to gawk. It's to gawk at, to have wide eyes and an open mouth. Who? The angels. When? At the birthing of Christ. Why? They may not have ever seen him before. Their very creator, in his presence, they had to veil their face because of his great glory. Now, for the first time in all eternity, God was being born through Mary in the person of Jesus Christ, veiled in human skin. The word implies that angels gawked 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 do 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's 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! I mean, 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. He will send forth his angels with a great sound of the trumpet." Isn't that going to be awesome? That's the second coming, by the way, not the rapture. The second coming.
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. 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 got to tell you, friends, you're going to 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. Hey, thanks 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 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.