Mostly speaking on where the devil came from, his names, and that there is 1/3 of the angels from heaven that fell with the devil.
It was a good sermon, not so full of the enemy, but full of what power and ability God has. What we need to be aware of, what we need to be on guard against.
Do angels still walk among us? I believe they do. One thing all the angels from God say is, "Do not be afraid. The Lord has sent me. Do not worship me." We are cautioned not to be worshipful of angels, but to know that they are ministering spirits from God. They are sent for a purpose or with a message. They are sent to help us or warn us.
I do not know that I have ever seen an angel, but I have felt their presence around me, of both kinds of angels. I used to be afraid of the enemy and his power, but since I have learned who I am in Christ, that lie of the enemy has been broken. For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. My kids asked me one time, when we were watching a scary movie, "Why are you laughing?" Well, the reason I was laughing was that I know God's Power. The enemy has no power over us, unless God gave it to him, and if God gave it to him, it is up to me to walk in faith, knowing that God will bring me through that trial or test.
I think of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednigo in the fiery furnace. They were put there due to their refusal to worship the golden statue. They said, "We will only bow down to the Lord God Almighty". The king was so incensed with fury (now that is a sign of the enemy's presence) and he told his people to put them in a fiery furnace and make it seven times hotter than it was. The servants were killed, due to the heat of that fire. But lo and behold, the king looked in that furnace and there was an "extra" person in there, that he thought looked like "the Son of God." He asked, "Didn't we put three in there? Why is there another person walking among them?" Now, they were all walking in a fire that was meant to kill them. They came out, and they didn't even smell of the fire. Their clothes were not scorched. Talk about God's Presence. Whether that person was an angel or God come to minister to His servants, we know that a supernatural occurrence had happened.
The enemy's plan was to not only kill them, but to make it seem as if they had never existed. Burned away to ashes. He was so incensed that they had the courage to stand up in a heathen land, for the One True God. This was a big deal. They were slaves. They were not supposed to rock the boat. But because they knew God, they were willing to die, rather than give into the status qua. The enemy is out there, looking for fresh meat to devour. Our greatest blessing, is that our God is so much bigger than this schemer. It says in the Bible, "If God is for you, who can be against you." I believe this verse. I quote it to myself often. I stand on these verses and flex my spiritual muscles with my faith in God being True to what He has said.
Do I fear? Of course I have times of being attacked with the spirit of fear. I just choose to quote that Scripture back to myself of God not giving me a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. Then I think on what that means. Power. God's Power. The power to move mountains. The power to walk in a fiery furnace. Miracle working power. Love. God's Love. Love so incredible and bold. Love of life. A Father's Love. Sound Mind. God's Mind. His Revealing Mind. No secrets from Him. He knows it all.
So, dear friends, may you be encouraged to hang onto God's Word to you. Apply those Scriptures to your fear and see what He will do. God bless you with Power, Love, and a Sound Mind.
I don't know if we've ever been visited by angels, but there was that time when we were returning home from Montana on our white Pontiac station wagon, and towing a camping trailer your folks gave us, we were in Idaho, there was a work truck following us with Montana license plates, we came upon some road construction and had to come to a stop but just before we stopped our car died, and wouldn't start back up. The guy in the truck came to see if he could help, I told him our car just died and wouldn't start back up, he went back to his truck and got a can of gasoline and put some in the carburetor and it started right up, he got back in his truck and left, we never saw him again.
ReplyDeleteIt was really strange that he had been following us for quite a while and knew exactly what was wrong with our car and just happened to have a gas can in his truck, then just takes off and is gone.
It turned out that our fuel pump was going bad. After we got home I was able to change the fuel pump.
Just the assurance from God's Word that angels are surrounding and protecting us is very encouraging for us as we go through the day. Thanks for sharing your insights!
ReplyDeleteIsolino, I forgot about that. You are right, that was strange that he knew, and had everything needed for helping us. Definitely was God looking out for us, and a possible angelic encounter. Thank you for reminding me of that.
ReplyDeleteAlberta, thank you. I love that He has His angels there guarding and protecting us. Many missionaries can attest to this fact. I appreciate both of you looking and commenting on the blog.
I met an angel once. His name was Bob. Our old RV broke down on the way to Oregon for our 1st grand baby's birth. We were 6 hrs. away on a Labor Day weekend. We had to spend the night in a 7-11 parking lot. The next day, two mechanics looked at it, we changed a part but it still wouldn't start. Nikky called and said they were heading to the hospital. She was in labor. We were desperate and I was freaking out. Bill went across the street to the gas station for the 5th time trying to get some advice. When I saw him slowly walking back to the RV with a tall, very old man wearing a mechanics uniform, I was less than enthusiastic. I thought, we don't have time to talk with this guy. He can't help us! He's too old! As they got closer, I saw that the man had large bumps on his face, neck and hands. I looked at Billy with anger. Why was he wasting our precious time with this guy? , I thought. Then I saw the look on Billy's face...a confident smile in the midst of our trial. I'll never forget what he said. "This is Bob. He's going to help us." Before Bob even got to the RV, he told us that we had installed the new starter with two wires crossed. He stood there while Billy reinstalled it. IT STARTED! I started crying and hugged Bob and told him he was an angel. He just smiled and walked away. We drove over to the gas station to thank him again but they said "Bob doesn't work here, he just comes by once in awhile". We made it in time for Aleena's birth, thanks to our angel named Bob.
ReplyDeleteThat is a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeleteI love this story. It sure lets us know that angels can look unusual to our eyes. Glad you were helped.
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