Angels Around Us
An all-creatures Bible Message

Angels Around Us
 
A Sermon Delivered to
The Compassion Internet Church
 
19 July 2020
 
Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor

Scripture References

Genesis 28:10-22
Matthew 13:24-43
 
Angels around us and the Holy Spirit within us is to us God’s way of helping us to live in His heavenly will and avoid violent and corrupt ways of this earth, but the problem is that most people are not tuned in to the spiritual realm of God, but instead listen to the corrupt ways of this world, which to us is really listening to the devil and his minion.
 
Most of us have probably seen the cartoon of a person with a demon on one shoulder and an angel on the other encouraging the person to do God’s heavenly will and the devil’s evil ways, and this may not be too far from reality, because in this world we are constantly faced with the tug of war between good and evil, and having to make a decision on which to follow.
 
It is obvious the God wants us to follow His ways, but as we look around the world, it is obvious that the majority of the people are following the corrupt ways of the devil in this world.
 
We believe that the problem lies in the fact that even most clergy are living with one foot in the world and trying to plant the other foot in heaven, which they cannot do, and their way of life becomes confusing to their congregations
 
Let’s think about these things as we look at Genesis 28:10-22…
 
10. Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran.
 
Jacob is going on the same journey that Abraham’s servant went when he was seeking a wife for Isaac, because the people around them were not Godly.
 
11. And he came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place.
 
I wouldn’t want to use a stone for a pillow, but this stone plays a role in what Jacob does, as we shall see.
 
12. And he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
 
Notice carefully the angels were first ascending the ladder into heaven, which to us means that they were already upon this earth and perhaps taking our prayers to God and bringing back His answers to us, by descending this ladder.
 
Don’t discount that there are angels around us.
 
13. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants.
 
This is the third time that God has repeated this promise, and surely Jacob had heard this from his father or grandfather.
 
14. Your descendants shall also be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
 
This kind of promise is something that Jacob cannot experience personally, but it is for his children and their children and their children and so forth, and they are the ones who will inherit the land, and this promise needs to be passed on to all future generations.
 
15. And behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
 
We have talked about the fact that Jacob knew who God was, but he still wasn’t living in the Lord’s heavenly will, and we believe that part of this promise means that He is going to keep pushing Jacob to live as He wants him to, even if not completely.
 
16. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it."
 
The Lord is really everywhere, if we allow ourselves to recognize this fact, but Jacob hadn’t understood this at this point in his life.
 
17. And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."
 
Jacob was limiting God and the gate of heaven to this place and failing to understand that if he allowed the presence of God to be with him at all times, he would also understand that God and the gate of heaven is wherever he was, just as he is with us.
 
18. So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on its top.
 
Jacob was still fixated upon the physical, and didn’t seem to realize that the spiritual realm was all around him, just as it is with us, and until we are truly born again and desire to live in God’s heavenly will, we cannot fully understand these things.
 
19. And he called the name of that place Bethel; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz.
 
Bethel means house of God.
 
20. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear,
 
21. and I return to my father's house in safety, then the LORD will be my God.
 
Jacob knew that the Lord was there, and he still resorted to bargaining with God, which is proof that he didn’t understand who God is, for if he did he would simply have trusted in Him.
 
Also, if this journey wasn’t in the heavenly will of God, and He didn’t fulfill all that Jacob asked for, who would be his God, the devil?
 
22. And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God's house; and of all that Thou dost give me I will surely give a tenth to Thee."
NASB
 
This is further proof that Jacob didn’t understand the spiritual realm, but he also seemed to believe in God, which seems to be the problem with most Christians for they are still living in many of the corrupt and violent ways of this world that are responsible for the suffering and death of millions of humans and billions of animals every year, as well as the pollution of the world.
 
If the majority of people realized that there are angels around us, and that they need to be born again and live in the heavenly will of God and reject the corrupt and violent things and ways of this world, we could free creation from its present corruption and bring us true peace.
 
As we look at Matthew 13:24-43, keep in mind that the angels around us are part of the kingdom of God and the spiritual realm.
 
24. He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
 
The good seed are the things that are in the heavenly will of God, which means that everything we do and say is in keeping with the things that God wants us to do.
 
25. "But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away.
 
The enemy is the devil and his followers, some of whom may be in our own churches, and they try to ruin or interfere with the good works of God, because they want to preserve the corrupt and violent ways of this world.
 
As an example, if we speak about doing no harm to any other living being, they will come back with the lie that God wants us to eat meat.
 
26. "But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.
 
The tares are the corrupt and evil things that most of the people are doing and they are going on all around us as we try to promote compassionate living and a vegan animal rights lifestyle.
 
27. "And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?'
 
There will come a time when some people will recognize the fact that we presented heavenly things, and the people of the world tried to counter it with their lies and corrupt ways of living.
 
28. "And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' And the slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?'
 
29. "But he said, 'No; lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them.
 
In other words, don’t fight with the evil people of this world, for many of us were once one of them and we changed, and some of those evil people will come to realize what they are doing and repent and also become peacemaking children of God.
 
30. 'Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn."' " 
 
When people mature, who they are becomes very evident, and God is saying that He will take the evil people out of this world, but in the meantime we are to still do everything in our power to help free creation from its present corruption, which in turn hopefully will convince others to join us and reject the ways of this corrupt world.
 
31. He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;
 
Think of the mustard seed as being the heavenly wisdom contained in the word of God that we can plant in the people of this world.
 
32. and this is smaller than all other seeds; but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." 
 
And the compassionate and empathetic word of God hopefully will grow in the minds and souls of the people who hear and observe how we live in the heavenly will of God and do everything in our power to free creation from its present corruption.
 
33. He spoke another parable to them, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened." 
 
The leaven in baking yeast that multiplies in the dough and raises the dough to over twice the size it was in the beginning so that when it is baked it is soft and easy to eat just as the heavenly realm is much softer and empathetic than the hardness of heart which is so prevalent in this world.
 
34. All these things Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable,
 
35. so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying,
"I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world."
 
To those who have ears to hear the parable makes sense, but to those with hardened hearts there is no understanding.
 
36. Then He left the multitudes, and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."
 
In my opinion, they should have understood, but then the answer might not have been recorded for the hard of heart people to hear at a later date, if they are willing to listen.
 
37. And He answered and said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,
 
In other words, God or Jesus sows the word of God in people.
 
38. and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;
 
And the problem is that most of the people of the world are listening to the evil one instead of to God.
 
39. and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.
 
Are we ready for that time, I hope and pray we are, for we create peace, as we talked about last week, for the angels around us help keep us in a heavenly direction.
 
40. "Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.
 
In other words, the evil people of this world will go to hell.
 
41. "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,
 
42. and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
 
I sometimes wonder if the fire is real fire or the fires of conviction that worldly people will feel for all eternity.
 
43. "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
NASB
 
If we truly listen to the Holy Spirit and the angels around us we create peace through our heavenly actions.
 
Amen?
 
Amen.

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