What Angels Do - Part 1 of 2

Dave McAllister: Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Visit a bookstore, ask for books on angels. You'll find many. Pop culture makes much of angels, but who are they? Today, we'll learn that God has an unseen army of angels, creatures of great power who do his bidding in the universe. To help us understand who they are, Erwin Lutzer now brings a series called A Flurry of Wings 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, I believe most of us live life totally unaware that angels are all around us. Today, you'll be telling us what they do.
Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: You know, Dave, you're absolutely right. Angels are all around us. Of course, we need to emphasize that also there is conflict in the unseen world. I'm thinking, for example, of the fact that Satan also has his emissaries all around us. But at the same time, we must remember that the biblical story of the birth of Jesus has many different angels. And the reason for that is because of its absolute importance. And you know, it is correct to say that the angels, I think, they envy us because they are not heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. But they love to run messages for the Lord. For a gift of any amount, we're making a very special book available that would be a wonderful Christmas gift, by the way, for children ages 2 to 6. Here's what you do. You go to rtwoffer.com. Now, the name of the book is entitled 1 2 3 Jesus Loves Me. And it's written by my dear wife, Rebecca. It's written for children. They will learn to count, and they will also learn Bible stories at the same time. For a gift of any amount, we're making it available for you. Listen carefully to this message, and then I'll give you the contact info. If you know anything about our culture, you know that angels are flying low these days. And they are everywhere. I took a trip to one of our bookstores to try to find out what's going on in the secular book world. And I came across a lot of angel titles. I thought there might be one or two, but I was shocked at the number of books on angels. Here are some of the book titles. Angel Letters, Angelic Healing, A Celebration of Angels, Angels Over Their Shoulder, Messengers of Light. Now, I determined I would buy only one of the books. And I bought the book Angels Among Us, but my wife would have preferred that I had bought another book. It's entitled Be an Angel. But I I passed I passed that one by. I discovered that there's angel wrapping paper, angel calendars, angel artifacts. And the Los Angeles Daily News says that the prophets are Well, you probably guessed it. The prophets that are coming about as a result of this angel phenomenon are perfectly heavenly, the report says. Now, I believe these stories that we read in the books and in the newspapers about angel visitations. The problem that I have, as we shall see this morning, is the interpretation of them and how we might understand the angel phenomenon in our culture. What I'd like to do today is to begin by giving some reasons why it is that angels are making a comeback and why it is that there is such a discussion and so much flurry regarding angels today. Here they are, a couple of reasons. Number one, it enables people to experience the spiritual without bothering with God, without bothering with God. Because the minute you begin to deal with God, then you've got all these problems of sin and redemption and the need for obedience and wondering what God's will is, whereby if you have an encounter with an angel, they don't make those kinds of nasty demands. They're very accessible, very accepting of human failure. And it is so much easier to be able to shuffle a deck of angel cards than it is to study the Bible. So, what you do is you go into angels, and they are more accessible as a way into the spirit world. In fact, that's the second reason. It makes the spirit world appealing and friendly, friendly. I stood there in the bookstore, and I took some of these books down, and I began to speed read them. And I noticed that all of the stories were so positive. I mean, there is no angel doing anything nasty. Everything that was happening was was so good and so helpful, and it was saying in effect, all that you need to do is to recognize that there's a friendly spirit world out there, and it's important for you to get in touch. There's a third reason. And that is that it makes the occult It makes the occult appear very biblical. Because the Bible has so much to say about angels, people therefore study the Bible, they will read Billy Graham's book on angels, read alongside another book on angels, and they think, well, one is just as authoritative as the other. I mean, after all, an angel is an angel is an angel is an angel. 13% of Americans say that they have seen an angel or have sensed the presence of an angel. What I want us to do today is to take our Bibles and to turn to Luke chapter 1. Luke chapter 1, this is the first in a series of three messages on angels. Today, we're going to discuss what angels do. Next Sunday, what angels believe or what they know, and then the following Sunday, what angels celebrate. And as we turn to Luke chapter 1, I want to remind you that angels are such a phenomenon that happen on the pages of Scripture. I may have mentioned to you over 300 references to angels in the Bible. And I not only believe in angels, but before this message is over, I'm going to share with you some angel stories. But before I get to that, I've got a couple of other things to say. Let's look at this passage of Scripture. Gabriel is the angel who brings a revelation to a man by the name of Zacharias, whose wife Elizabeth is going to become the mother of John the Baptist. Luke chapter 1 verse 8. Now, it came about that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer, standing outside during this time of the offering. Verse 11. An angel of the Lord appeared to him standing to the right of the altar of incense. And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear gripped him. I find that interesting because in the books that I scanned, nobody seemed to be scared of angels. They just seem to walk up and do something nice and disappear and the minds of many people it was as if this happens every day. Zacharias at least was troubled, and so were the shepherds. The angels had to say to them, fear not. But these angels that we read about today are not frightful at all, are they? Verse 13. The angel said to him, do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, and he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine or liquor. Goes on to discuss him and how John the Baptist is going to fulfill an Old Testament prophecy. But now we skip to verse 18. And Zacharias said to the angel, how shall I know this for certain, for I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years? And the angel answered and said, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God and have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place. What I'd like to do today is to use Gabriel as a prototype of angels. I know that he is a very prominent angel, but his responsibility, his job description no doubt is much like that of other angels, even though they may have lesser prominence. Gabriel is a very interesting angel, appears four times on the pages of Scripture. His name means a mighty one of God. And Daniel experienced some sightings. In the ninth chapter of the book of Daniel verse 21, Gabriel comes to him, and in the eighth chapter, Gabriel comes to Daniel, and they have a discussion. In fact, Gabriel looks like a man, and he touches Daniel, and he communicates with Daniel. What is it that Gabriel can tell us about God's angels? What is his job description? Well, let me give you three responsibilities that Gabriel has for God. Number one, he stands in the presence of God. Verse 19. I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God. Why is it that angels are in the presence of God in the sixth chapter of the book of Isaiah? Round about the throne, there were angels. You remember the seraphim, which was one of the levels of angels. And it says that they had six wings. With two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew, indicating their adoration, their obedience, and their humility. What is it that they are saying around the throne of God? But holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts. The whole earth is filled with his glory. They stand in the presence of God to worship. And if you read the book of Revelation, you discover that there were thousands of angels and 10,000 times 10,000 and all of them singing the praises of God and the praises of the Lamb. Worship is their responsibility and joy. Have you ever thought of what it would be like to be able to see God? Now, we can't because of our sinfulness. No man can see God directly and live, but the angels evidently do. And can you imagine what it would be like to to stand in the very presence of God without any moral or spiritual barrier between you and God? Because within you, there was no taint of sin. And all that you could do is stand and adore God. So, angels, first of all, they stand in the presence of God to worship. And secondly, they stand to serve. They stand in obedience to God. They are looking for assignments. God says, Gabriel, I want you to go, and I want you to communicate with Zacharias. I want you to communicate with Daniel. I want you to be involved in this battle, and it is your responsibility to take care of this part of the vineyard. And I want you to guard so and so on this very special trip that they are making. And all of you have assignments. Now, it's easy for us to say, well, what about those who do not have the same prominence as Gabriel or a Michael? What about those ordinary angels? Aren't they jealous because God never gives them something spectacular to do? Oh, no. Remember now, angels are without sin, and therefore there is no jealousy. And as far as the angels are concerned, they can rejoice in the success of another angel just as much as they can rejoice in their own success. Because remember, if you were an angel, anything that God would do would delight your heart. Assuming that you would have a heart if you were an angel, it would delight you. In fact, you know that someday when we get to heaven, some of us are not going to be rewarded as well as others who served in places where there was no prominence, who served in obscurity. Are we going to be jealous and say, you know, I envy that positions in the kingdom? No, because we will be without sin. And like the angels, we will rejoice in those who have positions of more prominence just as much as if we were the ones who were elevated to those special responsibilities. What is the first test when you begin to think about an angel of God versus the other angels? Because remember, just as there are angels that stand in the presence of God, there are fallen angels that stand in the presence of Satan who admire him and who are there to do his bidding. And if they do not, they will be punished. What is it like therefore when you have a visitation that is an angel? How might you know whether this angel is of God? Well, certainly one of the tests is if there is any communication, you know that an angel of God always agrees with God. He agrees with God if he's from God. In fact, you know it would be interesting to see how many evangelicals even would respond if they had an angelic visitor that showed up, wings and all, and said, you know, I want you to realize that God has sent me to you with a very special message. God has told me to tell you that you're a very kind person, and you are doing these acts of charity. And with these acts of charity, you are receiving God's approval. And if you do them consistently, you will enter into heaven. I can just imagine it. The experience happens and somebody writes a book and says, I was visited by an angel, and guess what he told me? And everybody, oh, wow, isn't that wonderful? My dear friend, if you have an angel that shows up and says that, you should turn to that angel and say, in the name of Jesus, be gone, be accursed. That's what the apostle Paul said. He said in Galatians chapter 1 verse 8, though we or an angel from heaven should preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached, let him be accursed. I was meditating on that this week, and I said, wait a moment, Paul, did you not mistake your theology? Why didn't you say if an angel from hell should preach any other gospel? Because surely an angel from heaven wouldn't preach another gospel. Dawn on me, Paul knew what he was saying. He was saying, if there should be an angel in heaven who snuck in with that kind of theology and therefore came from heaven and he preached a different gospel, let him be accursed, be gone in the name of Jesus out of here. Did you know that there's a very famous religion that was founded because a man had a revelation from an angel and did not curse him and believed what the angel had to say? And here you have this religion that is false, that is cultic, that teaches basically that man is God, all because a man had a revelation from an angel and thought that he should listen. First test, whether or not an angel is from God is, does he agree with God? Because the true angels stand in the presence of God and agree with him completely on everything. Secondly, I want you to notice that Gabriel says, I am sent by God. That's part of his job description. I stand in the presence of God and have been sent to speak to you. Now, think about that. The word angel really means messenger. In fact, sometimes the word can be used of human beings if they are messengers. Gabriel is standing here and saying, I am God's messenger, and because I am sent, that means that I'm not nearly as important as the sender. The ambassador is not as important as the president whom he represents. And therefore, the real angels always keep pointing to the glory and to the wonder of God, and they never take any attention that would be attracted to themselves. In fact, they disdain it because they want to make sure that God gets all of the glory. They are only on assignment to do what he asks them to do. And when they've completed their assignment, they vanish. How would all the angels regard the publicity that is being given to angels today? Well, depends what angel you're talking about. If you're speaking of the angels of God, they are abhorred. They abhor what is happening today. To them, they see this as the uttermost idolatry that people are going to be absorbed with angels and not recognize that the real issue is not angels, but one's relationship with God. But the fallen angels, they are delighting in it. This is great. Why? Because they love to have the attraction of people, and they love to have people think more about them than they do of God. And their greatest delight is when somebody prays to an angel thinking that he's praying to an angel and actually praying to an angel of light, a demonic spirit who appears as being righteous, but who is wicked, a spirit who does good things, mind you. All of them do. That's what the books say. Who does good things, but he does them with the intention of deceiving. You say, well, Pastor Lutzer, is this a new phenomenon? Well, it's new in the sense that years ago you couldn't go into bookstores and see all this stuff on angels. But I want you to know that everything that goes around comes around. During the ancient times, there was a heresy by the name of Gnosticism. And Gnosticism taught that there was a whole emanation of angels from God to man. And they began to sort out all the different angels and actually philosophically they were much more astute and much more intricate than the kind of pop writing that is being done today on angels. And they had it all worked out. What did the apostle Paul think of it? Turn to Colossians chapter 2 for just a moment. Colossians chapter 2, which was a letter that was basically written to counteract this heresy that was also being imbibed in the church. This preoccupation with angels. And in Colossians 2:18, he says, let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind and separated from the head that is Christ. I stood in the bookstore and saw all these angel books. And I thought to myself, how how incredibly arrogant, arrogant. To think that man would be able to enter into spiritual territory and would have the perception to know what was right and what was wrong when he was deceived and when he was not deceived and that all that you needed to do is to have this experience and then you could write a book. And I read some of the stories, and the angels were indiscriminate in their good deeds, both to the wicked and to the to the saved and to the unsaved. And And to think that this is now the map of the spiritual world. Paul says, beware lest somebody steal your crown when you become mesmerized by the angelic phenomenon which was happening. Beware. It's happened before.
Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Isn't it interesting that even in the first century there were those who said that they had contact with angels and that these angels gave them messages, messages, by the way, that were wrong because these angels were actually demonic spirits who took the form of angels. It is so important that we make sure that everything that we believe is based on the Bible. And of course, it has stories of angels, but these angels are good angels. They are God's angels. And they can be believed. But we're living in a world of deception. Well, very quickly, I have a special offer for you. How would you like to make sure that you had a book that you could read to your children or your grandchildren or other children entitled 1 2 3 Jesus Loves Me? For a gift of any amount, we're making it available for you. Here's what you can do. I hope that you have a pen or pencil to write this down. Go to rtwoffer.com. Of course, rtwoffer is all one word. rtwoffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1 888 218 9337 1 2 3 Jesus Loves Me. Your kids will learn to count and learn about Jesus at the same time.
Dave McAllister: It's time again for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question you may have about the Bible or the Christian life. Today's question takes us to the Old Testament and comes to us via email from Tammy. My staff and I have a question we have been debating, and we hope you can clarify. When Saul asked the witch to call up Samuel for him, did she in fact really call up Samuel or was it a spirit that disguised itself as Samuel?
Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, you know, Tammy, I've often pondered this question myself, and I've not taken the time to check a lot of commentaries to see what they have to say about this story. But if you want my personal opinion, I believe that Samuel was called up by this witch. Now, perhaps you're surprised at that, but you know, the Bible says in 1 Samuel 28, which is where it occurs, when the woman saw Samuel, she cried up with a loud voice. This witch herself was scared out of her wits. She was not expecting this. If this had just been a spirit, she would have probably been used to that. But something was happening here that was miraculous. And then later on, just in two verses later, it says that Samuel actually spoke to Saul. And Samuel said, why have you disturbed me in bringing me up? And then Samuel goes on and tells Saul what Saul should have already known, namely that God had departed from him and judgment was imminent. I believe that this story is totally unique. I don't think anything like it has ever happened before. God just did a huge miracle. And somehow Samuel himself was raised from the dead to speak to Saul. But then when you stop to think of it, Samuel had to die again as it were, go back into the grave. And of course, all that we can do is to say that there's some mystery here we don't understand, but if God is God, we can believe the text as it's written.
Dave McAllister: Thank you, Tammy, for the question, and thank you, Dr. Lutzer, for the answer. If you'd like to hear your question answered, go to our website. You'll find us at rtwoffer.com and click on ask Pastor Lutzer or call us at 1 888 218 9337. You can write to us at Running to Win 1635 North La Salle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60614. Today, Erwin Lutzer brought part one of What Angels Do, the first message in a series on A Flurry of Wings. Next time, why the angels we see on TV shows are a far cry from the real thing. Join us for more of this fascinating study. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.