Jesus Greater than the Angels

Greater Than the Angels

In the church I served prior to this one, there was a strong sense of the angelic, and a strong belief in the activity of angels in people’s everyday life. I mean, as a pastor you hear about this kind of thing a lot, but the activity of the angelic took up a lot more space in the faith among many of the congregants. I was fascinated listening to these stories. Many of the stories of angels spoke about an angel’s protection. In a near car accident. When someone was about to do them or a loved one physical harm.

One story stands out among others. It was unique because the people that shared it with me had some preconceived attitudes about folks with different skin tone than their own. They were driving their truck in the deep south, making their way to visit a loved one in that area of the world. They were on some back road in the middle of a very nasty storm. The road was taking on water. The car broke down. Visibility was at zero. All of the sudden a gentleman came to their aid, out in the middle of nowhere—he just showed up. He took a look at the truck. Came up with a fix for the vehicle. And as the driver was quickly closing the hood the man began to call out a word of thanks to him. He saw him for a moment, and then he just disappeared. It was an angel they said. And he was BLACK. BLACK. Can you believe that? They said. If I would not have seen it I would have never believed it. That is what they said.

When I heard their story, I tended to believe it. First, because the Scripture entertains angels unawares. Second, because the way God works is that he presses us out of our comfort zone and our preconceived notions. And third, because I loved the people who told the story to me.

Angelic visitation has fascinated Christians for a number of years. Angelic activity is something that believers have speculated about as well. Some of the stories that one hears are inspirational. Others are a little suspicious. And still others seem to contradict the plain teaching of Scripture.

The desert fathers in the early monastic period spoke of encounters with angels, but so did Mohammed. St. Teresa of Avila seemed to be inspired by angels, but Joseph Smith claimed to be as well.

And when we speak of angels, of course we can speak of fallen angels as well. I know of people throughout history, and in my own life who have spoken of power encounters with the forces of evil, where the demonic held sway over people until they discovered deliverance.

When I was in college, there was a book that captured the spiritual imagination of many of my classmates. It was a book of fiction about a college in small town that the powers of evil were seeking to invade and the powers of righteousness were engaged in battle against the evil one. The college was the center of the battle, that would have influence around the country and the world. The angels wanted to act on behalf of God, but were only as strong as the prayer power that was rallied in their support.

This book, being read by fundamentalists and evangelicals that were recruited to a mainline Presbyterian college that challenged its students to think rigorously about matters of faith, influenced the way many of my friends saw their world. They began to see professors that did not fit within their theology to be subject to fallen angels. Every time they went on a drive, they prayed about the heavenly host carrying their car from one place to the next.

The book, for those of you who read inspirational fiction, was entitled This Present Darkness. The students who read the book benefitted from an increased attention to prayer. That was good

However, I began to struggle with some of the other ways that this book made its way into people’s hearts. One of the ways that people began to use this book was to describe anyone who disagreed with them, or set policies in opposition to them to be influenced by the evil one. This seemed to me, at times, to be too convenient of a way to scapegoat people.

The other thing that bothered me is that the activity of the Godhead took a back seat to the activity of the angelic beings. I mean, I believe in angels and in the fallen angels called demons that the Scripture speaks about, I believe in spiritual warfare, but I believe that God is still mightily at work in the world. I just don’t believe that there is an angel behind every blessing, and a demon lurking in every corner.

Furthermore, I believe that the power of Christ is at work in believers through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The power of evil is no match for the risen Son of God. In the situation I observed in college, there were times where people seemed to almost make an idol out of the angels—asking for their assistance instead of asking God for help as they prayed etc.

There are several examples in recent and not so recent popular culture that seems to lift up angels, with very little acknowledgement of the Almighty that sent them on their mission. I remember television shows like Highway to Heaven and Touched by An Angel being like this. In Scripture, the angels always seem to be pointing people to faith in the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Of course, his veneration of angels is not unique to our time. People have had superstitions about angels for centuries. Several in the early church tradition, and in some Christian traditions today pray to angels and saints. This does not seem biblical. Some of the Reformers believed that the veneration of angels and saints by Catholics was idolatry, and amounted to worshiping angels. And in the time of Scripture, especially among people of Jewish background, some Christians could have an unhealthy understanding of angelic power that could border upon worshiping of angels.

The preacher that brings this sermon in the book of Hebrews is aware of this kind of thinking in his congregation. He realizes that there are some people that he works with that are strongly focused on the work of angels in the world, and that they seem to give more attention to the supernatural, sensational acts of heavenly beings than they do to Jesus Christ.

He lays out several Old Testament Scriptures. As he does so, he contrasts the Lordship of Christ with the ministry of the angelic beings.

1.    Angels are created beings, while Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity

Jesus is the Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the end. Angels were made by God to do his will. They are not gods themselves.

The word “angelos” is the Greek Word for messenger. Angels are created beings that are sent out to deliver messages on God’s behalf, in part. The Scripture mentions several things angels do, including some aspects of spiritual warfare that we discussed earlier. But mostly they speak for God. They come to Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds to announce the conception and birth of Jesus. They come to Isaiah in the temple, and convince him to accept God’s call to ministry. They warn Balaam’s donkey and eventually Balaam in the Old Testament not to stand against the Israelites as they come to the promised land.

2.   Angels are made to worship the Lord, while Jesus is to be worshipped

Read the book of Revelation. Read Luke’s gospel. The angels, when they are not delivering messages, are a gospel choir. They sing hymns to proclaim the birth of Jesus Christ. They are around the throne of God in the book of Revelation singing “Thou Art Worthy”. They are ministering to Jesus in the desert after he is tempted.

Angels are not to worshiped. They are made to worship Christ.

3.    Angels are created to serve and obey Christ

This is what the passage gets at when it says, “He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire”.

Angels are under Christ’s authority. They respond to his Word. They do his will. They are created to point to Jesus, not to take the place of Jesus.

Throughout Scripture, angels are sent out with divine tasks. In Revelation, the angels are the ones who initiate stages and processes of God’s judgement on behalf of Christ.

They attend to Christ, and in fact many of the righteous at the time of death.

4.   Angels are created to minister to disciples of Jesus so that they can do his will

God sends angels to us. They minister to us, and at times protect us. Later in the book of Hebrews it says that we can encounter angels and not even know about it, and for this reason, if no other, we should be hospitable.

You see, angels are beautiful creations of God. They are powerful beings. They are supernatural beings. But they are not worthy of our worship and our praise. They did not create us. They did not live a sinless life, go to a cross, and die for us. Jesus did that. So we worship him. He is greater than the angels.

When I read through this, I wonder what all of this really means to me and you and how we live our lives. As I read this, in the context of Scripture as well as the context of our lives, two things leap out at me.

First, many of us can look at the spiritual world through a dualistic lens. In other words, we can look at spiritual warfare as a battle of two evenly matched teams, so to speak. One is God’s team, represented by the angels. The other is the forces of Satan and demons. While I do not discount evil and the principalities and powers we fight against, as Ephesians says, I do believe this: the war against the evil one has been won at the cross. God is greater than the forces of evil in this world. The evil one may still be at work seeking to do damage, but he is overmatched. His fate is assured. He is a defeated foe, destined for eternal punishment. When the Apostle’s Creed says, “He descended into hell” God proclaims this truth. Christ is greater than the forces of evil in the world today.

Also, I think that a lot of times, we are addicted to the sensational and the sentimental. I think that we are often interested in the big flash, the amazing experience, and the supernatural encounter. When we think we are encountering angels, we are overwhelmed by a sense of the supernatural being tangible, but even more we are enamored with the idea that we matter enough to have an angel appear in on the stage of our lives.

The truth of the Christian life, however, is that the power of Jesus Christ may be accompanied by angels at times in the life of the believer, but the work of the Holy Spirit transforming us to be more like Jesus is where the real action is happening.

The life of discipleship is a “Long Obedience in the Same Direction” as Eugene Peterson puts it. God’s amazing grace is shown more powerfully through the growth of a believer than enables them to learn forgiveness, that changes a person from an addict into an evangelist, a sinner into a saint.

I think that the other reason people look to angels is that they long to experience spiritual power. Many evil forces in this world seem to grab a hold of a person and do not let them go. The power of addiction. The hardened heart that goes into a school and kills people. The person so under the influence of evil that they abuse children placed by God in their trust.

People want to see the power of God at work in a visible way. And at times angels are sent by God in response to this cry. Even more though, the power of the resurrected Son and the Holy Spirit are more powerful than the evil one, and when the power of God is manifest, lives are influenced and lives are changed. God’s power is best manifest in a person who has completely surrendered their life the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and not one who has gained the attention of a heavenly being.

I would rather see the Spirit change a person’s heart so that they place their faith in Jesus Christ than to see an angel fill this place with its awesome presence. I would rather see the evil one vanquished through the Holy Spirit’s power than to see some supernatural angelic manifestation.

Angelic beings are an amazing part of God’s plan. But in the end they are just signposts, pointing to Jesus, who lived and died for you, rose again, and now reigns in heaven, and who will come to judge the living and the dead. So worship Jesus! And know that his power is greater than the angels, than any other force, power or being in the spiritual realm. In all things, Christ is our champion.

Quote for the day

First Sunday of Lent Sermon--Jesus the Greatest

Jesus the Greatest

The book of Hebrews is a unique epistle in Scripture. Much of the later texts in Scripture are letters written by Paul or John to a church, often while the author is somewhere else. Hebrews is a little bit different than each of those books in the later New Testament. First, no author is named. Some believe it to be Paul, others believe it to be Apollos, and a minority opinion believe the author is not named because it is a woman.

What people have come to a conclusion about, however, is that this book is actually a sermon. If we read it together it would take about 45 minutes, which is rather lengthy by United Churches standards, but not awfully lengthy in a lot of growing churches and a lot of churches around the globe or in history.

The church written to in Hebrews, was obviously Jewish. This comes through as you read through the book, and how the preacher illustrates and communicates his concerns.

The church in the book of Hebrews used be a little more vital in years past, but has come upon a time where it has begun to struggle. Listen to some of the issues mentioned in the sermon and see if the issues resemble the American church at all.

• ·         Attendance is steadily declining (Hebrews 10:25)
• ·         Their church has experienced a recent financial crisis (Hebrews 10:34)
• ·         The church is theologically wishy-washy (Hebrews 4:14)
• ·         They have to be urged not to argue with one another (Hebrews 13:1-2)
• ·         They aren’t listening to Biblical teaching (Hebrews 5: 11)
• ·         They have been in the church a long time, but have not transitioned from being “babes” in the faith to “eating solid food”. People are content to be involved as long as they are not teaching and leading (Hebrews 5: 11-14)
• ·         They are struggling in being open to newcomers and their needs (Hebrews 13:2)
• ·         They are struggling to continue to pray and spend time in God’s word (Hebrews 4:11ff). And struggling in feeling that their prayers are even being heard.
• ·         Some of their number that used to attend the church have left the church completely
• ·         Others are considering leaving.
• ·         Almost all of them are tired. The preacher says that their shoulders are drooping and that their knees are getting weak (Hebrews 12:13)

So, in the midst of this, the preacher begins his sermon. And what does he do? Does he come up with some complex theological treatise? Does he enlist a strategic plan? Does the preacher lay on the guilt really thick? Well, maybe a little bit, but not really. What then is to be done.

He gets back to the basics. He reminds the people who Jesus is, and what is at stake! You see, in our communities of faith, in our spiritual lives, in our journeys together we can be distracted by bills and business meetings, by politics and potlucks, by things going on in the world around us, by grudges and greed, and much, much more.

And so, in the midst of many words and many interests, the preacher uses his voice to amplify the voice of Jesus, and to pay attention to who he is, and why Jesus matters.

For the next several weeks, we will follow the argument of Hebrews, which tells us in a number of different ways, in almost lyrical fashion, how Jesus reigns supreme as Lord, and is worthy of our worship.

These first four verses today, we hear about the centrality of Jesus Christ in God’s mission in the world.

For the next several weeks we will talk about what Jesus is greater than. Today, as we begin, we will talk about how Jesus is the greatest and pinnacle of God’s plan.

The book of Hebrews begins with the radical, powerful claim. God speaks to us.

God has spoken in the world before Christ was born in a number of ways. In a number of places. Perhaps most notably through the prophets, as the preacher suggests, but also through the Scriptures, and in other ways through history and time.

In the fullness of time, as the fulfillment of all that God has done, God speaks through sending us Jesus.

Jesus is God’s Word. God speaks through Jesus.

Through Christ the world was created. God speaks the world into creation in the person of Christ. Christ is the heir of all creation. Everything belongs to Christ.

Christ is now sitting at the right hand of God. Reigning with God. Allowing the kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven through his righteous rule.

You see, what the preacher in Hebrews wants us to know, right from the start, is that Jesus Christ has been in authority, and now has authority over all. It all comes together in him. He is the right one. He is the true one. He is the strong one. He is our King. He deserves our worship.

Now when we speak of authority and leadership, there are generally, by people in the field, two kinds of leadership that people have. One kind of authority is called positional authority. This is the kind of authority that a person has purely based upon the role that they have. For instance, you may have this boss at work, you may not like him or her, you may not even think that the person in that leadership position is awfully competent, but because the person is the boss, they have a certain level of authority. You need to speak to them with a certain amount of respect, you may need to comply with their requests, even if you don’t like it. Because by virtue of their position, they have a certain amount of authority over you.

Then there is concept of personal authority in leadership. There are people in organizations that have authority, not because they hold an office or have some sort of position, but simply because of who they are. You know this type.

In the church I served in Colorado before I came here, there was a man that attended worship. He was not a member of the church, although his family all was. He had never been baptized. Yet, after a few years I learned, it was this man who led the church. He had authority. When he spoke up, for the most part, people fell in line. He had no positional authority. But he had ultimate personal authority in that congregation.

Christ has authority because he speaks God’s Word, and is in fact God in the flesh. When he teaches, he teaches as one who has the very words of God. He is in a position of authority as the Word. And yet, his word gives us life. He hears from God. He speaks for God. His word gives him both personal and positional authority. He’s our King.

Christ has authority because of what he has done. He lived a sinless life. He died on the cross to pay the price for our sins. His actions give him authority to speak the truth in our lives. Because he died for us, we will live for him. He’s our King.

Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. As such he has all the authority of the Godhead in his hand. He’s our King.

This passage says that he is the radiance of God’s glory. That means literally that God’s glory is bursting out from the person of Jesus. He shines like a light in the darkness. Christ stands, even when all others turn away. He stays true when all others turn away. He is the true one. He’s our King.

This passage says that God is the exact representation of God. Literally, this means that the very character of God is present in person of Christ. He is holy. He is beautiful. And he is true. And he’s our King.

There are others in our world who long to make Jesus less than. They say perhaps that he had some good ideas. Perhaps that he was a moral person. A good example. We know that Jesus is more than that. He is the one who God spoke through. Who saved us from our sins. And he’s our King.

Many Eastern religions might say that Jesus is A god, but not the God. Jews will say Jesus is a good teacher. Mohammed said that Jesus was a prophet, but not God incarnate. Jesus is not the first born of the spirit children—he is the only begotten son of God, Emmanuel, God with us. He is not simply a good man. He is the one who holds all authority in his hands. And he’s our King.

He is not our insurance policy, where we are just to treat him as our get out of hell free card.. He is not our bellhop. He did not create us so that he can run errands for us. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. We are called to live in service to Christ and his reign. He is our King.

As such, we need to remember that this life that we live, this faith that we profess has very serious implications. In the next year, people are going to passionately speak about, live for, and give to political candidates. No political party or politician is going to save you. Jesus died to save you. And our allegiance, our loyalty belong to him. He’s our king.

Because of this, we live our lives for him. He give our hearts to Christ. We stand for him in the good and the bad. He is the greatest. Both because of his love for us, and because in the end he is our champion.

He is our King. So let us love him. Let us serve him. Let us worship him. Let us give him our all, knowing he gave it all for us, and yet overcame all his enemies. He is our King.

Amen.

Ash Wednesday Message

Returning to the Promise

Based on Joel 2 and Isaiah 58

When we think of prophecy, whether we are looking at the biblical witness or we are looking at the prophecies of someone like Nostrodomus, we tend to think of the work of the prophet as a predictor. As someone who looks into the future and sees something that is going to happen, and then tells other people what they see happening. So, if I were to have said on Sunday morning that the Broncos would destroy the Panthers on Sunday night, and that the Panthers would only have ten points, and I did that kind of regularly, then you would begin to think of me as a prophet and listen to what I had to say about things. Or…maybe not. But you get the point.

When the Bible speaks about prophecy this kind of thing is included of course, but the job of the prophet is less about foretelling (foretelling the future), and more about forthtelling (speaking a word from God to the people that calls them to change).

This is true in our readings tonight that come both from Isaiah and from Joel. Both men speak as God’s mouthpieces. Proclaiming God’s words of judgment and grace, God’s call to repent and endure, God’s encouragement to have hope and believe. Either way they were to hear from the Lord, and then say, “Thus saith the Lord!”

Often prophets used words that start with “re-“ in it. Words like “re”deem, “re”pent. Words that call us as believers in Jesus to not simply go through the motions, but to examine our lives and to realign our commitments, our attitudes, our actions, and words with the Message of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Lenten season especially is a time to examine our lives, empty our lives of some of the clutter, and focus our lives anew on being the kind of person and the kind of people God calls us to be, owned by Him, made to glorify him forever.

In Joel, God’s people are called to “re”-turn. With fasting, weeping and mourning. To return. To the grace and compassion and love of God.

To return. To come back to where you were before.

To return. To come back to the ones who you have ignored and left behind.

To return. To come back to God, the loving Father, who waits for his prodigal children to quit chasing after broken toys and visions of self-aggrandizement, self-fulfillment that end up being mirages that that lead to self-destruction.

To return to faith in God. To return to the holy life you were called to in the beginning. To return to the narrow path. Return to me, God says through the prophet Joel.

Lent is a time to return. This day, Ash Wednesday, is a time to begin that journey. Of returning.

This returning, Joel implies, includes repenting. Turning our backs on an old way of life, and returning to the call God has on our lives. Rethinking how we have lived and what we have done, and moving in God’s direction again instead of our own. This Lenten season is a time to do that.

Returning also means returning to the things that God values instead of what we might values. The people of God in Isaiah’s time got ritual confused with righteousness. God says he is not as interested in sacrifices of animals, or in fasting as a show of holiness on its own.

Instead he says, return to the kind of love, the kind of covenant loyalty that you should have for your Lord and especially in this case, your neighbor.

Fast from oppressing the poor, from offering low wages instead of a fair wage.

Providing welcome and shelter to the wanderer, otherwise known as the refugee in today’s language.

Stand up with people are treated unfairly by the law or those who enforce the law—that is what is saying when it says to throw of the chains of injustice.

Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Care for your family and take care of them.

Return to these values, instead of living with some spirituality that is more show that substance.

Do this and God will bless your worship. Your lives. Your ministries.

He also says that as we do this kind of thing, in verse 12, that we will be used by God to make broken places whole, and make wrong things right. We will be renewing in our world, letting the kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

We will be called people who repair, restore, rebuild. Rebuilders of ancient ruins. Repairer of broken walls, Restorers of Streets with Dwellings. (The Neighborhood). Not something we are doing in our own power, as the people brag about wanting to do in Isaiah 9:10, but something that God does through us as we return to him. As we repent and re-believe the gospel.

May God bless you as you return, repair, restore, and rebuild this Lenten Season.

Boundaries

BOUNDARIES

In part because our church is doing a small group study on the topic of personal boundaries in relationship to having a healthy spiritual life, I have been considering what the Scripture says about boundaries and our relationships.

When I first hear the word “boundaries” what I first think of is personal space, and geographic boundaries among people groups, as well as geographic boundaries on one’s personal property. The Proverbs speak often about respecting and not moving the “boundary” stones that define people’s property.

When Adam and Eve were given boundaries as well. There were things that they could eat, and there were things that they could not eat. They ate some of the things that they should not, and when they did so they crossed a boundary, a behavioral boundary, that God set for them. He gave it to them for their own good, and not respecting the boundaries that God gave them brought sin and death into the world.

When we talk about developing boundaries in a moral sense, we are talking about being intentional about what we choose to say yes to doing, and what we choose to say no to as well. The Ten Commandments are given to teach people to respect God and others through honoring some basic boundaries that keep people feeling loved, comfortable, and safe. Don’t worship other gods. (If you do, you will not feel safe or loved by any of them) Don’t commit adultery. (If you cannot trust your friends yourself, or your spouse not to respect your sexual boundaries, you will not feel safe or able to trust others). Don’t kill (Because everyone’s life is sacred, and who wants to live their whole life sleeping with one eye open?).

Jesus said very clearly, “Let your yes be yes, and your no be no”. We should say what we mean, and mean what we say. We should also be able to listen to God’s Spirit, set priorities, and decide what we are going to do and who we are going to be in response to who he has made us to be and called us to do. Too often it is easy to live our lives trying to make everyone else happy, and forget to take responsibility for our own lives. If we live our lives seeking to make everyone happy, we will fail and be miserable. We are called to please God, and love others. To live the life he has called us to live, in obedience to his Word, and not be a slave to expectations of others. Praise God.