Sermon #1160 The Joy of Heaven Who uttered the following glorious words and glad tidings from Scripture? Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord I stand in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!" "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!" "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" (Luke 1:13-15, 19; Luke 2:10-11; 24:5-6; Revelation 4:8; 5:12; 11:15). These eloquent words of joy and victory flow from the lips of angels. There is great joy in heaven and angels are central to that joy. But, the wonderful news is that you don t have to wait on heaven to appreciate the joy associated with angels! When you become a Christian, they are part of a benefits package that no one on earth can touch. When you become a Christian, as long as you remain faithful to Christ, your earthly disappointments and discouragements will pale in comparison to your momentous blessings as kings and priests in Christ, the King of Kings (1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6). Breathe in the beautiful sentiment of perspective presented by the Spirit in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. No wonder the Spirit commands Christians, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! It is the height of ingratitude to be offered so many incomparable blessings and to walk around like nothing has ever gone your way. Of course, I mean genuine, faithful Christians, not those who profess to know God but in works deny Him (Titus 1:16). If you are not a Christian, you are missing out on amazing blessings associated with the angels in heaven. Angels: Joy in Heaven, after our song Christians miss the forest for the trees. Believers bog themselves down with burdens and cares of this world. Why live with the unbeliever blues? Strangely, some who are actually in Christ live this way. Outside of Christ, of course, you can surround yourself with friends and still feel alone and empty away from God. Now, friends, if you place all your chips on this world, then by all means, fret about your finances, panic over politics, worry about WWIII, and be anxious about the approval and applause of your peers. But why would you want to live that way? And, wow, why live life that way if you re actually a child of God? As one man put it, Why run with the turkeys when you can soar with the eagles. That s what we re talking about today. Hear God s word for your life in Christ. Colossians 3:1-2, If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. When you become a Christian, you establish residence on the mountain top. This is not to say you will not have difficulties, but in contrast to life outside of Christ, when you have trouble, you have a host of blessings to pick you up and keep you going. And so, this morning, don t settle. Look up! The devil wants you on his level. Live on a higher plane. Take advantage of Jesus offer (John 10:10), I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 1
The Joy of Heaven by Brett Hickey, sermon #1160 2 of 5 I don t claim to fully comprehend all that God intended, but he says that He has blessed us [Christians] with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3) Again, God raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6) Wait! Don t let that go in one ear and out the other! Did you get that? In Christ, we sit in heavenly places. One preacher explains, we are partakers of the full rights and privileges of the heavenly kingdom. Isn t that cause for indefatigable, unconquerable joy and optimism? Take a real good look at where Jesus puts you when you become a Christian. Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24, (S) For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 22But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. The Holy Spirit keeps piling up the blessings! Now, you talk about being on the mountain top! Mt. Zion makes Mt. Sinai or any other mountains look like a mole hill! Notice that a material part of arriving at this special place involves coming to an innumerable company of angels. The Holy Spirit devotes no single book in Scripture to angels but spreads the mention of angels over 300 times throughout the Bible. While we get more at length details about angels in captivating stories in the Old Testament, this sample from the book of Hebrews demonstrates that angels are a New Testament topic. I have always found it perplexing that the Sadducees denied the existence of angels. But the fact that they did, should make it no surprise to us today that professing believers downplay the place of angels in God s scheme. Man has also erred in the opposite direction. Men worship angels. The apostle Paul warned Christians against this in the first century. Colossians 2:18, Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels Feigning themselves too inferior to worship God directly, men presumed to worship Him through angels. They tried to justify this since the law came through angels (Acts 7:38, 53; Hebrews 2:2). Jesus far outranks angels; there is no comparison. He is Creator; they are created. Colossians 1:16, For by Him [Jesus] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. Perhaps you re thinking: How could any Christian be so weak as to be tempted to worship an angel? Cut him some slack because of his unique circumstances, but consider that the Apostle John fell prey to this in Revelation 22:8-9, Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God. " This reminds me of 1 Corinthians 10:12, Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Lewis Chafer suggests one reason so few humans have seen angels in their actual form is that many would be compelled to worship them because of the glory of their appearance. Back to Hebrews 12:22, But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels Have you ever pondered just how many angels exist? The Spirit says that the people of God have come to an innumerable company of angels. Now, THAT is a 2
The Joy of Heaven by Brett Hickey, sermon #1160 3 of 5 whole lot of angels! And they are for Christians; they are on our side. How about that? After this study, I think of angels when I read Romans 8:31, If God is for us, who can be against us? No, the word angels is not in that Scripture, but angels are part of the package. When you become a Christian, you can carry that thought through all your challenges; outside of Christ, you re really on your own. When Judas betrayed Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, Peter cut off the ear of Malchus, the high priest s servant. Jesus pulled back on Peter saying, (Matthew 26:53), Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? That would amount to 80,000 angels immediately at Jesus disposal (A. T. Robertson). That, of course, would have been overkill to an extreme. In 2 Kings 19:35, one angel, you remember, slaughtered 185,000 Assyrians with no indication of exhaustion or a let up. That s a raw killing power of at least 14,800,000,000. Imagine that. Practically innumerable, is it not? The apostle John speaks of a vast multitude of angels around the throne in Revelation 5:11, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands Taken literally that would amount to 100 million angels. That s four times the population of Texas! What is so beautiful about all of this is that they do more than worship God constantly. In fact, angels serve GOD by serving whatever lowly humans commit and follow through in faithfully serving Jesus Christ! Listen to these remarkable words in Hebrews 1:14, Are [angels] not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? Doesn t that make you feel unworthy? It does me but I ll take it! In addition, Jesus says in Matthew 18:10, Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. But the big question: if angels minister for those who will inherit salvation, what exactly do they do? Some preachers will make dogmatic assertions regarding all the activity angels engage in on behalf of Christians. You won t get that today. I would like to tell you I know exactly what the work of angels involves today; unfortunately, I cannot. We must tread carefully here. While we must not deny the work of angels, neither may we make claims we cannot support with Scripture. Deuteronomy 29:29, The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us I can, however, describe some angelic activity in the biblical past. We don t have time to explore all the Old Testament teaches on angels, but a few Scriptures tell us a great deal. Psalm 34:7, The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. How encouraging is that? Psalm 91:11-12, For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. Satan, you remember, twisted that Scripture in tempting Jesus in Matthew 4. Later on in Daniel 3:13-30, the angel of the Lord delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from what appeared to be certain death in the fiery furnace. Then, in Daniel 6:19-22, an angel shut the mouth of the famished lions that otherwise would have devoured Daniel like you would a KFC drumstick. We talk about the love of God and we think about the love of God frequently; well we should! All mankind is the object of God s love, but the Christian is in a special way. But do you ever think about the love of angels? Burton Coffman summarizes the New Testament activity of angels, and, consequently what he calls the love of angels for man: 3
The Joy of Heaven by Brett Hickey, sermon #1160 4 of 5 The intimate connection of the angels with the affairs of the kingdom of God is seen in the rejoicing of angels over one sinner that repents (Luke 15:7) and in the promise of Christ to confess his followers before God and his holy angels (Mark 8:38). The angels attended Christ's earthly mission, announced his conception and his birth, strengthened him in Gethsemane (Luke 22:43), awaited his call during the passion, rolled away the stone from his grave, announced his resurrection, and escorted him to glory. In the second advent, Christ will appear with ten thousand angels (perhaps a symbolical number for an infinite host) (2 Thessalonians 1:7); and to those angels of his power shall be assigned the task of separating the precious from the vile (Matthew 13:41,49). The love of angels for people, though incapable of comparison with the love of Christ for people, is nevertheless a valid assumption from the above premises; and the loving regard of angels stands as an effective foil of the hatred engendered against people by Satan and his angels. What a comfort to know all this! When you become a Christian, you can tuck that away and remember it even if the whole world turns against you! Membership privileges in the body of Christ are out of this world. Incidentally, one oversight of Coffman I must mention: angels came and ministered to (Jesus) after the devil tempted Him (Matthew 4:11). Can you imagine the excitement among first century Christians who discussed the events of Acts 5:19-21 where an angel of the Lord freed the apostles from prison? Later on, an angel freed Peter from prison again in Acts 12. In Acts 8:26-27, an angel directed Philip the evangelist towards the Ethiopian eunuch who was hungering to learn the truth. I would love it if I could be directed to open hearts seeking the truth just like Philip on this occasion. Sometime later, an angel appeared to Cornelius, the God-fearing Centurion, in Acts 10, telling him Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God.Send for Simon Peter. You know the rest of the story. If you want to read a Bible book that explores angel activity go to the book of Revelation. You will find the word angel in fifty-three verses and the word angels in twenty-two verses. Revelation 12:7-11, And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Revelation 14:6- Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth--to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people-- 7saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water." 8And another angel followed, saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." 9Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the 4
The Joy of Heaven by Brett Hickey, sermon #1160 5 of 5 Lamb. 11And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." 12Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. 13Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on."' "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them." Revelation 20:1-2, 10 p. 37 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Stay with us for closing words, after our song Thank you for watching Let the Bible Speak. Please contact us for a free copy of #1160, The Joy of Heaven. Do us a favor and subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch the new sermon every week at your convenience. You may request our free study guides on Inspiration, A Better Covenant, or The New Testament Church. Finally, we echo the sentiment of the apostle Paul when he wrote in Romans 16:16, the churches of Christ salute you. Until next week, goodbye and may God bless you. Are you searching for the truth of God's word and have a sincere desire to learn about the Bible? Do you want to know what the Bible says about salvation and about Christ and His church? If you are looking for Bible Founded discussion on these topics and many others, then please accept this invitation to explore "Let the Bible Speak" and then contact us for additional studies. We are members of the church of Christ as found in the New Testament. We are not members of a denomination or earthly religious organization. We are a brotherhood of believers, joined by a common bond, Jesus Christ. We try to live and worship following the patterns found in the New Testament. (For manuscripts of other sermons visit: www.letthebiblespeak.com) COPYRIGHT Let The Bible Speak. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Express permission is granted to distribute any video, audio, or transcript of any broadcast message as long as the material is: unedited and attribution is given to Let The Bible Speak; a hyperlink to LetTheBibleSpeak.com is included for electronic distribution; a text reference is included to www.letthebiblespeak.com for printed distribution; and the original author receives attribution. An irrevocable, world-wide, royalty free license for distribution is granted as long as such distribution has the intent of: supporting the truth as presented; giving glory and honor to God; and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. 5