Sermon Tone Analysis

GOD’S MESSENGERS: ANGELS

Malack, Angelos

113 occurences in Hebrew and 172 terms in Greek.

ANGELS FIRST AND FOREMOST PRAISE GOD.

NASB9518 Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,

They always point to God.

rev 20

before faith, angels can impress and be objects of worship.

Illustrate with students.

Angels will always point you to the Lord.

Isaiah 6:

ANGELS PROCLAIM THE LORD’S TRUTH.

(V.

7)

The angels administrate God’s will on earth.

Napoleon Bonaparte, who was that archangel of war, the little general, the man who lived a wicked and a hard life, a man who was an egotist for most of his life, finally was exiled to that lonely, barren island, the island of St. Helena.

And there, Napoleon Bonaparte began to do something.

He began to study the Scripture.

He began to read the Bible.

He studied the life of Jesus Christ.

And here’s what Napoleon wrote after he had studied the life of Jesus Christ.

Here’s the conclusion that he came to—and I quote—Napoleon said: “I know men, and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man.”

Now, what he meant by that is, not a mere man.

“Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires and the gods of other religions.

That resemblance does not exist.

There is between Christianity and every other religion the distance of infinite.

We can say to the authors of every other religion, you are neither gods, nor the agents of deity.

You are but missionaries of falsehood, molded from the same clay with the rest of mortals.”

That’s what Napoleon said.

He said, You take Jesus Christ and put Him here and put the founders of other empires and religions there and the distance between the two is the distance of infinite.

And indeed he is correct.

His name is a name above other names.

You can take the religious leaders out of other religions and you still have the religion.

You still have their teachings.

You still have their ways.

You don’t have to know them personally in order to follow them.

But you cannot take Christ out of Christianity and still have Christianity.

Christianity is not a code, not a creed, not a cause; it is Christ Himself.

It is a vital relationship with Christ.

To take Jesus Christ out of Christianity is like taking the water out of the well, the blue out of the sky, the notes out of music, numbers out of mathematics.

You don’t have Christianity if you take Christ out.

Jesus is different from all the other religious leaders.

Some of them claim to point to the way, to be a sign pointing to the way; Jesus Christ says He is the way.

The other religious leaders say, I have come to teach truth; Jesus Christ says, I am the Truth.

He’s not merely a teacher of the truth; He is the truth.

He is not merely a philosopher speaking about life; Jesus is life.

His name is a name above all other names.

They inspire us to worship.

Angels PROTECT CHRIST’S PEOPLE AND HIS PURPOSE.

(V.

14)

Psalm

Ps

ps 8

Their position should lead us to greater gratitude for our salvation and thanks to the Lord.

They exist to encourage us to exercise Christian Charity and hospitality.

Story of professor teaching on Good Samaritan.

Man who won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Angelic nature is fixed since their fall.

Either obedience or disgrace.

We must exercise discernment to listen to our better angels

Listen to the good ones that tell you to go to church or not go to church.

To give or not give.

To love or not love.

To forgive or not forgive.

To face danger or run away.