| Whatsoever
Things Are True
by Dan Coburn Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church pastordan@mtida.net Last week we were talking about angels - what they are, and what they aren't. What is funny to me is that many folks, (even professing Christians) say they don't believe in angels, while most believe in ghosts. Every major network has at least one regular show dedicated to ghosts. And if that's not enough, there are whole networks devoted to the subject. I heard a man say: "people today are not as spiritual as they were fifty years ago". I disagree. Folks are very spiritual today, they are just misguided at best. The Bible says that "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" - Heb. 9:27. Also, for a Christian = "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." 2nd Cor. 5:8. Many times God chastised His people for all forms of necromancy, or consulting the dead, or mediums or witches. And how does He address it? Well, in Deut 18, God doesn't justify or attack any of these activities, and neither will I. He simply says: "My people will have nothing to do with it". The issue then, is not the validity of these things, but rather are you His, or aren't you? Many say they believe in Heaven, but not a literal hell. Seven, is the Hebrew number for maturity or completion. The Bible speaks of Hell seven times for every reference to heaven. Also funny (peculiar) to me is that many say they believe in angels, but not demons -- but that's another day. Last week we saw how angels are ministering spirits for God. What does all this errand running involve, and how might it apply to me? 1) Protection. In 2nd Kings 6, there is one of my favorite stories where the king of Syria makes war on Israel. He keeps attempting to ambush the king of Israel, but to no avail. There is obviously a spy in his camp, for each time the good king doesn't make the ambush point. The Syrian king is wroth, and calls his advisors to root out the informant. "It's not us", they reply, "but there is a prophet in Israel named Elisha who knows what we are doing before we do". "Go get him then" says the bad king. And they do. They find him, and his servant sleeping in a tent. The bad army literally surrounds our heroes, and when Elisha's servant goes outside the tent as you might in the morning, he sees that they are trapped. He cries out to his mentor, who simply smiles and prays: "Oh Lord, open the eyes of my servant that he might see what I see". God honors this prayer, and when the servant goes outside the tent a second time, he sees the entire enemy army surrounded by "chariots of fire", or angels. The rest of the story is hilarious to me - vs 8-23. Angels also - 2) escort saints to heaven (Luke 16:22), perhaps to protect us from the "prince of the power of the air"? If the Bible is true, (and it is) no one knows how many times angels have intervened on our behalf. No doubt fewer than some think, but many more than others would believe. Have you ever encountered an angel? Have you ever come up against a demon? If you have never seen the enemy, perhaps you aren't on the front line. God Bless. Note: On the 17th of June, we will begin a Three Week study on Depression. If you struggle with depression, or know someone who does, you are more than welcome to come and explore from a Biblical perspective, "the Ins and Outs of Depression". Sunday Evenings at 7:pm. |
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