Good Morning Beloved Family,
Today's message is one of those messages, I find a bit challenging, if not uncomfortable to teach, but nonetheless, extremely necessary. It deals with some rather critical issues found in many of the religious systems today. Ones, I have actually avoided, but the Holy Spirit has been continuously calling me to speak about, therefore, in complete submission to the Holy Spirit, I must do it.
Or as they say today, "Ya gotta do what ya gotta do."
(deep breath)
First let's pray..
Heavenly Father,
Today, I thank you for my family gathered here. I ask that you bless them with Your
favor and provide for all of their needs.
Grant us compassionate hearts, fill us with Your love that does not keep records of wrong doing, and bring joy to our hearts, when helping others.
O Father,
I pray that You protect them from
harm and evil,
from false teachers and doctrine.
I pray that anything that is hidden in darkness will be brought into light. Lead us into Your perfect truth
and help us to be the family You intend us to be.
Give us Your wisdom, and grant us discernment for these days.
Lord, we pray for those of us, who have family members that do not yet have a personal relationship with You.
Praying persistently, fervently for them always, with the expectation, that You would draw them near.
Because in Your Word, You have told us, the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
Thank You Lord, for setting us apart, for calling us to the light,
and for the courage to speak Your truth, always, not matter the cost
We pray that You would open the hearts, minds of the hearers of the truths contained in Your Word.
In Jesus' precious name
Amen
Today's message is entitled: Satan, Your Kingdom is Coming Down
Scripture
warns that in the last days, false prophets will arise and
deceive many. Believers who are not well-grounded make easy targets for
doctrines that may sound good but are riddled with error.
Some of these doctrines are deadly: there will be those that alter the Deity of
Christ, deny the Deity of Christ, attempting to redefine the Trinity or even deny the
Trinity.
Beloved, we must sharpen our awareness and be vigilantly alert, not just for ourselves but for
our loved ones who might otherwise be drawn to a false teacher or false prophet.
"When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him."
Acts 12:10
"And suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped."
Acts 16:26-27
What do gates and doors have in common?
They both bear an unspoken, unwritten message:
This is my property! Keep out!
Both are
designed to keep the unwanted out and the wanted in. In most cases they
help us keep the good in and the bad out. However, in the two cases
given above they were designed to keep the good in. Gates, doors,
fences, and walls also represent boundaries and are usually easy to
see.
Beloved, these boundaries also exist in the spiritual realm but they are much more difficult to see.
"I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it."
Matthew 16:18
Now many people have interpreted this Scripture, to mean than Jesus was saying,
that Peter, you are my rock and upon this rock I will build my church. But that is not the message here. Jesus didn't build His church upon Peter, nor did Peter hand the baton over to the Pope!
Perhaps, I'll address that in a future message..
Wrapped up in this one small verse is the purpose, plan, mission, and vision
of God. This was the reason why Jesus came to the earth. He came to “build His church” and He still continues to build it through each and every one of us today!
Many times when we read this passage, and we picture hell on the attack and the
church on the defensive. We picture ourselves almost sunken under the
pressure of hell’s onslaught and God finally is able to bring together
enough forces to overcome the wicked one.
Beloved, again, that is just not the picture
portrayed here at all.
Have you ever seen a person attack with gates?
Of course not,
a person does not attack with gates, he defends with gates.
Now are you getting
the picture?
Jesus and His mighty army, the church, are attacking and
the devil is on the run.
Let us go back into history and get a clearer
picture.
In this case “history” will become “His-Story.”
One of God’s leaders in the angelic realm was Lucifer, the “son of the morning” who tried to overthrow God in a coup.
He became God’s adversary, the enemy. Because of this, Lucifer moved from being one of God’s
archangels to God’s archenemy.
But we learn in Revelation 12:4-9 that Lucifer tried to get all the angels to
follow him, but only one third of the angels joined him in the coup
attempt against God. They were cast down and had to organize their own
kingdom. Two thirds remained in heaven.
Throughout the Bible, there is a message of the battle between “good” and “evil.”
When you look to the back of the book, in Revelation, you see who wins.
But until then, however, we
will constantly be in battle against Satan and his demonic forces.
The victory over him has already been won, he merely awaits sentencing. But is seeking to do as much damage as he can in these last days.
So, in the meantime, we must "stand firm", holding onto the ground, the victory that has already been won by Jesus.
"We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one."
1 John 5:18-19
If we are looking for a “breakthrough”, we must pull the chair out from underneath Satan. It is true that Satan is our enemy and
we are coming against the gates of his kingdom! The gates of hell
cannot withstand the mighty army of Jesus Christ! Satan’s gates are
being pulled down and his doors are being kicked open. Hell represents Satan’s
entire domain and the church is aggressive and triumphant against it.
The church shall prevail against the gates of hell.
And quite frankly, it would appear as if they aren't the least bit concerned about blowing themselves into the fires of hell. So, they have no compunctions about the horrors of what they teach. Though they are very subtle, but no less harmful and deceptive.
"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."
2 Timothy 3:1-7
Beloved, I believe we are living in those days now.
God is looking for people who will take things by force. I'm not speaking about a physical force, but rather, a biblical one. We must “be strong,” standing up for our beliefs, and fighting for our convictions, to uphold biblical truths. Remembering that no one can stand before us all the days of our lives.
And this is exactly what Jude is addressing...
Jude 1:3-4
"It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage."
Jude 1:14-16
Beloved, we are equally given the task of protecting the truth, as by proclaiming the truth!
Jude is very structured in his letter. In verses 5-7, there are three cases of apostate judgment; in verses 8-10, there are three characters of apostate nature; and then three comparisons of apostate influence in verse 11.
Jude is giving us, essentially a spiritual photograph of apostates to see who the terrorists really are.
Satan is the god of this present world. He controls it along with his demons and evil spirits. He has organized the world into political, cultural, and religious systems that at times, these stand as gates to the kingdom of God and prevents people from believing the truth.
Although Satan has a powerful kingdom, Jesus came to destroy the works of Satan and free us from his dominion. God has enabled us to enter into spiritual warfare with Him. God has given us powerful weapons and the promise of Isaiah 54:17
"No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;
And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their vindication is from Me,” declares the Lord."
If we take a closer look at the picture of these who have defected from the true faith, you’re going to see their true character revealed. They are not driven by superior insight or by superior intellect. And they are not driven by spiritual intuition.
They do not possess the secret knowledge of God. The Mormons don’t have it, the mystics in the Roman Catholic system don't have it. It’s false. Their dreams are nothing more then the musings of their own distorted minds. I'm not speaking necessarily about the individual churches, I'm talking about the heads of the teaching, the Vatican. And those who authored Jehovah’s Witnesses didn't have either.
They are driven by their own revile, their baser instincts of greed and selfishness, love for sin, disdain for authority, and irreverence toward angelic majesties. And when you look more closely at them, no matter what they claim, they are blasphemers, and apostates.
Whether dressed in priestly attire, or the painted prophets or the theological liberals of today, they are not only immoral, and insubordinate, they are irreverent.
No matter what the gates of hell are in our lives, homes, and city; we have the power to knock them down with the weapons God has provided us. Whatever demonic powers are in effect in our lives; we can knock them down too!
Peter warns us, in 2 Peter 2:1-3,
"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep."
Some of the language of Jude and Peter is almost identical; some of it is identical. Peter was writing about false teachers to come; Jude was writing they’re here.
Peter describes these apostates, "They indulged the flesh in its corrupt desires, and they despise authority; daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord.”
Peter clearly refers to angels here.
"They will blaspheme angels when even angels who are greater in might and power than men do not blaspheme other angels."
Sodom and Gomorrah certainly did that, they blasphemed holy angels. Evil angels do that; they blaspheme. Holy angels fight against holy angels, as we see a picture of that in Daniel 10, when demons fight against the purposes of God.
Beloved, we are an army that is marching through the land. We have a made up mind. We will not and cannot retreat. God has meant for us to move forward; therefore, none of our weapons are designed for a soldier to retreat.
Our weapons are mentioned in Ephesians 6:10-17. In Ephesians 6, we see the enemies that we face; the armor that we are to use; and the weapons that are available to us.
So how do false teachers blaspheme angels, the answer might not come immediately into our minds. Because there is a very particular ministry that angels have had for a long time that is outlined in Scripture. It's remarkably clear and unmistakable really.
We can find the answer in Deuteronomy 33. Moses, is about to die, he calls the sons of Israel together before his death. Moses is reiterating something of the history of Israel.
"Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the sons of Israel before his death. He said,
The Lord came from Sinai,
And dawned on them from Seir;
He shone forth from Mount Paran,
And He came from the midst of ten thousand holy ones;
At His right hand there was flashing lightning for them.
All Your holy ones are in Your hand,
And they followed in Your steps;
Everyone receives of Your words.
A possession for the assembly of Jacob.
When the heads of the people were gathered,
The tribes of Israel together."
Deuteronomy 33:1-5
God is pictured here, coming down at Sinai with literally a myriad of ten thousand angels. When God came down at Sinai to give the law, the angels were there, and they were there in massive force.
In Psalm 68:17, "The chariots of God are myriads, thousands upon thousands; The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness."
"The chariots of God” is referring to the angels, “are ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands upon thousands.”
Beloved, where else can you find that in the Bible?
But in Book of revelation, all the angels around the throne!
We are given a clearer picture, with even greater insight into this in the sermon Stephen preached in Acts 7:51-53.
"You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it."
And in Hebrews 2:1-4,
"For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will."
The message here is clear!
Angels have a very special role in the moral order in the world.
Isaiah 6:2, the angels antiphonally saying, “Holy, holy, holy.” Immoral people, who rebel against divine lordship; immoral people who defile the flesh by their corruption, then also, blaspheme the holy angels who have a special guardianship over the law of God.
And in their immorality, their insubordination ultimately blaspheme not only God, blaspheme not only Christ, blaspheme not only the Holy Spirit, but they also blaspheme holy angels as well as the One the angels serve.
When Christ returns, to judge the ungodly of the world, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.
If we would study the cults and false religions of the world today, and you will find that they inevitably claim some connection to angels. Joseph Smith had a special relationship with the angel named Moroni. The truth is he blasphemed angelic majesties, just as he blasphemed God by denying that He is a Trinity, just as he blasphemed Christ by denying that He is God, so he blasphemed angels, the true guardians of God’s holy law and His Holy Word.
Just as the Muslim religion, blasphemes Christ, by denying His Deity, the Holy Trinity and God's Holy Word.
Remember in Jude 1:14-15,
"It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."
Beloved, I therefore, find it amazing really, that these apostate false teachers claim to have special insight, some special association and relationship with angels! It is equally astonishing, that these false religions, who claim to have the elevated knowledge; who get the visions, the revelations, and the dreams, are talking about the fact that all this is coming from the angels.
Beloved, these false teachers do not hesitate to indulge their flesh, reject lordship, and revile holy angels.
"Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
And fade like the green herb.
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
And He will give you the desires of your heart."
Psalm 37:1-4
Beloved, we must continue to pray, just as Daniel prayed and fasted in Daniel 10 and God sent an angel to answer. The angel revealed that God had heard him on the first day but that he had been in battle with the Prince of Persia for twenty-one days. This prince had withstood him but Michael had come to his assistance. It is just a matter of time before we will see the second coming of the Lord Jesus!
Blaspheming holy angels by rejecting the law, of which they are the guardians, is serious business!
But Jude tells us that even Michael, who is himself a holy angel, would not even revile Satan who is a fallen angel. The holy angel, Michael, who would not himself blaspheme even a fallen angel. And yet these false teachers will blaspheme against the holy angels! That’s an astonishing contrast beloved.
The holy angel, Michael, knew Lucifer. He knew him when he was the Son of the Morning, when he was the anointed cherub, when he was around the throne, and when he was the heavenly choir director. He knew the other demons, all of them being created together at once. And when they fell, he knew they fell, and he did battle with them and was part of the force that threw them out of heaven. He knows he has power over Satan.
And of course, in Revelation 12:7, we see Michael and his angels are waging war with Satan and his angels. Michael, is a holy angel,
and his function is to do whatever God tells him to do and not act independently on his own. He will not usurp divine authority; he will not exercise his own will, even over Satan. He will not, on his own, blaspheme even Satan. For he knows God has His plans for Satan, and God knows what they are.
Beloved, we can rest upon the assurances, of Deuteronomy 20:1-4.
"When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you. When you are approaching the battle, the priest shall come near and speak to the people. He shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted. Do not be afraid, or panic, or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you,"
In closing....
We must be aware, that Satan has a highly organized kingdom on the earth, and we read what they are in
Ephesians 6:12
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."
I am always astonished, but moreover, disturbed, especially in regard to the charismatic movement, when I hear people pronouncing judgment on Satan.
Beloved, that is not our place to do! Who do these people think they are? But we are to do as the holy angel Michael, "The Lord rebuke you!"
We are not given the special authority to act independent authority outside of the authority of God. We have been given no authority to act of our own will, we are not omnipotent!
Therefore, we cannot run around, blaspheming, even a fallen angelic majesty.
Though we must use our spiritual might to put out the enemy who occupies Christ's churches, to do our part, assisting in bringing Satan's kingdom down, by proclaiming God's truths!
God's will be done!
And to God alone be the glory!
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord life up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Brian Monzon Ministries