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Fall Asleep to The Ministry of Angels _ How Heaven Serves Humanity · truthunedited

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  Speaker 1: Have you ever wondered if angels are real? Not the
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  Speaker 1: cherubs on greeting cards or the winged statues in old cathedrals,
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  Speaker 1: but actual messengers from Heaven, walking among us, intervening in
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  Speaker 1: our lives in ways we rarely notice. The Bible tells
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  Speaker 1: us they are real, and more than that, it tells
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  Speaker 1: us they are active, watching, protecting, delivering messages from God himself.
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  Speaker 1: Scripture says in Hebrews Chapter one, verse fourteen. Are not
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  Speaker 1: all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will
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  Speaker 1: inherit salvation, ministering spirits sent to serve that means their
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  Speaker 1: entire purpose. Their divine assignment is to help us, to
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  Speaker 1: guard us, to carry God's messages, to stand between us
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  Speaker 1: and danger, to comfort us when we grieve, to celebrate
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  Speaker 1: with us when we rejoice. Tonight, we're going to journey
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  Speaker 1: through some of the most remarkable encounters between angels and
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  Speaker 1: ordinary people recorded in the Bible, from the dusty tents
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  Speaker 1: of Abraham to the empty tomb of Jesus. We'll see
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  Speaker 1: how Heaven has always served humanity through these mysterious, powerful,
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  Speaker 1: invisible helpers. So find a comfortable place to rest, let
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  Speaker 1: the wait of the day, fall away, and prepare to
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  Speaker 1: discover that you are far more watched over, far more
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  Speaker 1: cared for than you ever imagined. Let's begin Chapter one
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  Speaker 1: Abraham and the three visitors, entertaining angels. It was the
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  Speaker 1: hottest part of the day. The sun hung merciless in
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  Speaker 1: the sky, and even the wind offered no relief. Most
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  Speaker 1: people were resting inside their tents, waiting for the heat
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  Speaker 1: to pass. But Abraham sat at the entrance of his tent,
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  Speaker 1: near the great trees of Mumray, watching the road. He
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  Speaker 1: was an old man now, His body bore the marks
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  Speaker 1: of nearly a century of life. His hair and beard
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  Speaker 1: were white. His hands, once strong enough to lead flocks
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  Speaker 1: and build altars, now moved more slowly. But his eyes
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  Speaker 1: were still sharp, and that afternoon those eyes caught movement
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  Speaker 1: in the distance. Three men were walking toward him along
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  Speaker 1: the dusty road. They wore simple travelers clothing, their cloaks
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  Speaker 1: pulled close against the heat. Their sandals kicked up small
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  Speaker 1: clouds of dust with each step. Nothing about them seemed unusual.
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  Speaker 1: They looked like any other group of travelers passing through
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  Speaker 1: the land. But something stirred in Abraham's heart. He didn't
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  Speaker 1: know why. He couldn't explain it, But as he watched
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  Speaker 1: them approach, a thought rose unbidden in his mind. Why
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  Speaker 1: do I feel I should honor these strangers as if
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  Speaker 1: they were royalty? Without hesitation, Abraham stood, and then, despite
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  Speaker 1: his age, he ran to meet them. When he reached them,
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  Speaker 1: he bowed low to the ground. His voice was warm, respectful,
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  Speaker 1: almost reverent, My lords, if I have found favor in
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  Speaker 1: your eyes, do not pass your servant by. Let a
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  Speaker 1: little water be brought, and then you may all wash
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  Speaker 1: your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get
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  Speaker 1: you something to eat so you can be refreshed, and
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  Speaker 1: then go on your way. Now that you have come
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  Speaker 1: to your servant, the three men looked at him. Their
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  Speaker 1: faces were calm, kind, and one of them spoke, very well,
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  Speaker 1: do as you say. Abraham's heart leaped. He turned and
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  Speaker 1: hurried back to the tent, moving faster than he had
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  Speaker 1: in years. He called to Sarah, his wife, quick, get
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  Speaker 1: three seas of the finest flower, and knead it and
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  Speaker 1: bake some bread. Three seers. That was enough flower to
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  Speaker 1: feed dozens of people, far more than three travelers would need.
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  Speaker 1: But Abraham wasn't thinking about what was reason he was
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  Speaker 1: thinking about honor. Then he ran to the herd and
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  Speaker 1: selected a calf tender and choice, and gave it to
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  Speaker 1: his servant, who hurried to prepare it. Abraham brought butter
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  Speaker 1: and milk, and when the calf was ready, he set
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  Speaker 1: the meal before them. The smell of roasted meat and
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  Speaker 1: fresh bread filled the air. The sound of their quiet
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  Speaker 1: conversation drifted on the breeze. Abraham stood near by under
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  Speaker 1: the shade of the tree while they ate, waiting, watching,
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  Speaker 1: ready to serve. And then one of the men spoke again,
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  Speaker 1: not to Abraham, to Sarah, who was listening from inside
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  Speaker 1: the tent. Where is your wife, Sarah? He asked. Abraham's
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  Speaker 1: heart skipped. How did this stranger know her name there
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  Speaker 1: in the tent, Abraham answered. Then the man said something impossible.
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  Speaker 1: I will surely return to you about this time next year,
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  Speaker 1: and Sarah, your wife, will have a son inside the tent.
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  Speaker 1: Sarah's hand flew to her mouth. She laughed, not out loud,
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  Speaker 1: but silently to herself. The idea was absurd. She was old,
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  Speaker 1: far past the age of child bearing. Abraham was nearly
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  Speaker 1: one hundred years old. A song now, But the visitor
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  Speaker 1: heard her laughter, even though she made no sound. Why
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  Speaker 1: did Sarah laugh? The man said. His voice was gentle,
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  Speaker 1: but it carried a weight that made the air feel still.
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  Speaker 1: Why did she say? Will I really have a child?
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  Speaker 1: Now that I am old? Is anything too hard for
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  Speaker 1: the Lord? And in that moment Abraham knew these were
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  Speaker 1: not ordinary men. The Lord himself was standing before him
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  Speaker 1: and with him two angels. Sarah, trembling, now stepped to
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  Speaker 1: the entrance of the tent. I did not laugh, she said,
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  Speaker 1: fear rising in her voice. But the Lord said, yes,
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  Speaker 1: you did laugh. The men stood. The meal was finished.
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  Speaker 1: They looked towards Sodom, the city in the valley below,
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  Speaker 1: and began to walk in that direction. Abraham walked with them,
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  Speaker 1: seeing them on their way, And then the Lord said
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  Speaker 1: something remarkable. He spoke as if thinking aloud, but he
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  Speaker 1: was speaking to Abraham. Shall I hide from Abraham what
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  Speaker 1: I am about to do. Abraham will surely become a
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  Speaker 1: great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will
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  Speaker 1: be blessed through him, For I have chosen him so
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  Speaker 1: that he will direct his children and his household after
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  Speaker 1: him to keep the way of the Lord by doing
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  Speaker 1: what is right and Just then the Lord told Abraham
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  Speaker 1: the truth the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so
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  Speaker 1: great and their sins so grievous, that I am going
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  Speaker 1: down to see if what they have done is as
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  Speaker 1: bad as the outcry that has reached me. Abraham's heart sank.
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  Speaker 1: He knew what this meant. Judgment was coming. The two
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  Speaker 1: angels turned and walked towards Sodom, but the Lord remained
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  Speaker 1: standing with Abraham, and Abraham, bold in his fear, stepped closer.
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  Speaker 1: Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? He asked,
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  Speaker 1: what if there are fifty righteous people in the city,
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  Speaker 1: will you really sweep it away and not spare the
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  Speaker 1: place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?
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  Speaker 1: The Lord said, if I find fifty righteous people in
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  Speaker 1: the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place
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  Speaker 1: for their sake. Abraham pressed on, what if the number
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  Speaker 1: is five less than fifty. If I find forty five,
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  Speaker 1: I will not destroy it. What if only forty are
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  Speaker 1: found there? For the sake of forty, I will not
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  Speaker 1: do it. The conversation continued thirty twenty, and finally Abraham said,
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  Speaker 1: may the Lord not be angry. But let me speak
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  Speaker 1: just once more. What if only ten can be found there?
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  Speaker 1: The Lord answered, for the sake of ten, I will
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  Speaker 1: not destroy it. Then the Lord left and Abraham returned home,
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  Speaker 1: his heart heavy, knowing that the city's fate was sealed.
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  Speaker 1: But here's what we must not miss. Abraham had just
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  Speaker 1: shared a meal with God himself. He had entertained angels
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  Speaker 1: without knowing it at first. And because of his hospitality,
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  Speaker 1: because of his willingness to run towards strangers and serve
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  Speaker 1: them with generosity, he was brought into the confidence of Heaven.
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  Speaker 1: The writer of Hebrews would later say, do not forget
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  Speaker 1: to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing, some
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  Speaker 1: people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Abraham
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  Speaker 1: is the proof of that truth. He didn't know who
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  Speaker 1: was coming down that road. He didn't see wings or halos,
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  Speaker 1: he didn't hear trumpets. He just saw three dusty travelers,
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  Speaker 1: and he ran and to serve them. That's the lesson.
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  Speaker 1: Angels don't always announce themselves. God doesn't always arrive with thunder.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes Heaven comes quietly in the form of a stranger
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  Speaker 1: at your door, and how you respond matters Abraham's hospitality
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  Speaker 1: opened a door not just to his tent, but to
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  Speaker 1: a conversation with God, to a promise renewed, to a
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  Speaker 1: glimpse of Heaven's plans. The same could be true for you.
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  Speaker 1: You never know who might be standing at your door.
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  Speaker 1: You never know which act of kindness might be the
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  Speaker 1: one that changes everything. Hospitality opens the door to Heaven,
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  Speaker 1: and sometimes Heaven walks Right through chapter two, The Angels
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  Speaker 1: in Sodom Lots rescue. The two angels had left Abraham
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  Speaker 1: on the hillside and were walking now toward the city
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  Speaker 1: in the valley below Sodom. Even from a distance, the
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  Speaker 1: city looked prosperous. Its walls were high and strong smoke
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  Speaker 1: rose from cooking fires. The sound of voices drifted on
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  Speaker 1: the evening air. By all appearances, it was a thriving place.
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  Speaker 1: But appearances can deceive. The two angels walked as men, now,
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  Speaker 1: their sandals kicking up dust on the road. Simple traveler's
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  Speaker 1: clothing covered them, worn from the journey, calm faces, steady steps,
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  Speaker 1: nothing to draw attention to anyone watching. They were just
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  Speaker 1: two more strangers entering the city at dusk. As they
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  Speaker 1: reached the gate, a man stood up to greet them.
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  Speaker 1: His name was Lot. He was Abraham's nephew, and he
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  Speaker 1: had moved to Sodom years earlier, drawn by its wealth
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  Speaker 1: and opportunities. He had prospered here. He had a home,
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  Speaker 1: a family, a place of respect. He sat at the
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  Speaker 1: city gate, a position of honor and influence. But Lot
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  Speaker 1: was not like the people of Sodom. He still feared
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  Speaker 1: the Lord. He still remembered the faith of his uncle Abraham.
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  Speaker 1: And though he lived among the wicked, his soul was
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  Speaker 1: tormented day after day by the lawless deeds he saw
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  Speaker 1: and heard. When Lot saw the two travelers, something in
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  Speaker 1: him recognized danger, not from them, but for them. He
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  Speaker 1: knew what this city was capable of. He knew that
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  Speaker 1: strangers were not safe here. After dark, he stood and
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  Speaker 1: bowed low, my lords, He said, please turn aside to
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  Speaker 1: your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend
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  Speaker 1: the night, and then go on your way early in
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  Speaker 1: the morning. The angels declined politely, no, we will spend
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  Speaker 1: the night in the square, but Lot insisted. He urged
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  Speaker 1: them so strongly that they finally agreed and went with
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  Speaker 1: him to his house. He prepared a meal for them,
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  Speaker 1: baking bread without yeast, and they ate. Everything seemed peaceful
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  Speaker 1: for a moment, but before they had gone to bed,
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  Speaker 1: the men of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house.
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  Speaker 1: All the men from every part of the city gathered outside, shouting,
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  Speaker 1: pounding on the door. Where are the men who came
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  Speaker 1: to you to night? They called to Lot, bring them
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  Speaker 1: out to us. Their intent was clear violence and complete wickedness.
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  Speaker 1: The sacred law of hospitality meant nothing to them. They
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  Speaker 1: had no fear of God, no sense of shame, no restraint.
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  Speaker 1: Lot went outside and shut the door behind him, trying
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  Speaker 1: to reason with them. No, my friends, don't do this
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  Speaker 1: wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never
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  Speaker 1: slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you,
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  Speaker 1: and you can do what you like with them. But
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  Speaker 1: don't do anything to these men, for they have come
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  Speaker 1: under the protection of my roof. It was a terrible offer.
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  Speaker 1: Born of desperation, Lot was trying to tacked his guests
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  Speaker 1: at any cost, but even this revealed how deeply he
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  Speaker 1: understood the sacredness of hospitality, even in a city that
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  Speaker 1: had forgotten it. The crowd's response was rage, Get out
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  Speaker 1: of our way. They shouted, this fellow came here as
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  Speaker 1: a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge.
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  Speaker 1: We'll treat you worse than them. They surged forward, pressing
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  Speaker 1: against Lot, moving to break down the door, and then
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  Speaker 1: the angels acted. They reached out, pulled Lot back inside,
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  Speaker 1: and shut the door. Then they struck the men outside
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  Speaker 1: with blindness, all of them, from the youngest to the oldest.
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  Speaker 1: Suddenly the mob was groping around in confusion, unable to
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  Speaker 1: find the door they had been pounding on moments before. Inside,
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  Speaker 1: the angels turned to Lot. Their voices were calm, but urgent.
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  Speaker 1: Do you have any one else here, sons in law,
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  Speaker 1: sons or daughters, or any one else in the city
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  Speaker 1: who belongs to you. Get them out of here, because
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  Speaker 1: we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to
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  Speaker 1: the Lord against its people is so great that he
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  Speaker 1: has sent us to destroy it. Lot's heart raced. He
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  Speaker 1: ran to the houses of his daughter's fiancees and said,
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  Speaker 1: hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord
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  Speaker 1: is about to destroy the city. But they thought he
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  Speaker 1: was joking. They laughed. They didn't believe him. When morning came,
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  Speaker 1: the angels urged Lot again, hurry, take your wife and
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  Speaker 1: your two daughters who are here, or you will be
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  Speaker 1: swept away when the city is punished. But Lot hesitated.
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  Speaker 1: He had lived here for years. His wealth was here,
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  Speaker 1: his home, his life. It was hard to leave everything behind.
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  Speaker 1: Seeing his hesitation, the angels reached out and grasped his hand,
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  Speaker 1: his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters.
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  Speaker 1: The Lord was merciful to them. They led them safely
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  Speaker 1: out of the city and set them outside. One of
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  Speaker 1: the angels said, flee for your lives. Don't look back,
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  Speaker 1: and don't stop anywhere in the plain. Flee to the mountains,
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  Speaker 1: or you will be swept away. Lot and his family
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  Speaker 1: ran behind them. The sky began to darken. Then fire
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  Speaker 1: and burning sulfur rained down from the Lord out of
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  Speaker 1: the heavens. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the
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  Speaker 1: entire plain were consumed. Dense smoke rose from the land
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  Speaker 1: like smoke from a furnace. Lot's wife, unable to resist,
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  Speaker 1: looked back, and she became a pillar of salt, a
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  Speaker 1: testimony frozen in time of what happens when we cling
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  Speaker 1: to the world. God has judged. But Lot and his
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  Speaker 1: daughters survived because two angels pulled them from the flames.
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  Speaker 1: This story is often told as a warning about sin
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  Speaker 1: and judgment, and it is that Sodom's wickedness had reached
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  Speaker 1: such a point that God could no longer allow it
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  Speaker 1: to continue, even ten righteous people could not be found
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  Speaker 1: within its walls. But it's also a story about mercy.
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  Speaker 1: God didn't have to warn Lot. He could have destroyed
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  Speaker 1: the city without notice. But because of Abraham's intercession, because
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  Speaker 1: of Lot's hospitality, and ultimately, because of God's own compassion,
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  Speaker 1: he sent angels to rescue the one man who still
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  Speaker 1: honored him. The angels didn't just deliver a message. They
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  Speaker 1: physically pulled Lot and his family out of danger. When
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  Speaker 1: Lot hesitated, they grabbed his hands and led him to safety.
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  Speaker 1: That's the ministry of angels. They don't just observe. They act,
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  Speaker 1: They intervene, They rescue. And here's the truth we need
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  Speaker 1: to hold on to. The same God who sent angels
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  Speaker 1: to pull Lot from the fire is the same God
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  Speaker 1: who watches over you tonight. You may feel surrounded by darkness.
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  Speaker 1: You may feel like you're living in a place where
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  Speaker 1: no one else honors God. You may wonder if any
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  Speaker 1: one sees, if any one cares, but Heaven sees, and
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  Speaker 1: when the time comes, Heaven will act. Sometimes God uses
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  Speaker 1: the humble to save the proud, and sometimes he uses
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  Speaker 1: angels to pull us from fires we cannot yet see.
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  Speaker 1: Chapter three, Hagar and the Angel the God who sees.
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  Speaker 1: Her name was Hagar, and she was nobody, a slave,
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  Speaker 1: an Egyptian, a woman with no rights, no voice, no future.
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  Speaker 1: She belonged to Sarah, the wife of Abraham, and her
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  Speaker 1: life was shaped entirely by the will of others. For years,
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  Speaker 1: Sarah had been unable to have children. God had promised
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  Speaker 1: Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars, but the years
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  Speaker 1: passed and Sarah's womb remained closed. So Sarah made a decision.
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  Speaker 1: According to the custom of the time, she gave Hagar
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  Speaker 1: to Abraham as wife, hoping that through her the promise
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  Speaker 1: might be fulfilled. Hagar conceived and everything changed. Suddenly, the
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  Speaker 1: slave girl, who had been invisible her entire life, was
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  Speaker 1: carrying the child of the most powerful man in the region.
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  Speaker 1: For the first time, she mattered, and she knew it.
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  Speaker 1: Scripture says that when Hagar realized she was pregnant, she
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  Speaker 1: began to despise her mistress, perhaps She thought, I have
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  Speaker 1: given him what you could not. I am the one
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  Speaker 1: carrying his child. Maybe now I am worth something. But
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  Speaker 1: Sarah saw the shift in Hagar's attitude and grew angry.
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  Speaker 1: She went to Abraham and said, you are responsible for
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  Speaker 1: the wrong. I am suffering. I put my slave in
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  Speaker 1: your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant,
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  Speaker 1: she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me. Abraham,
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  Speaker 1: wanting no part of the conflict, told Sarah, your slave
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  Speaker 1: is in your hands. Do with her whatever you think best.
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  Speaker 1: And Sarah did. She mistreated Hagar so severely that the
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  Speaker 1: young woman could no longer bear it. So Hagar ran.
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  Speaker 1: She fled into the wilderness, alone, pregnant, with no plan
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  Speaker 1: and no hope. She walked until she could walk no farther,
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  Speaker 1: and then she collapsed beside a spring of water near
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  Speaker 1: the road to shore. She had nothing, no food, no shelter,
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  Speaker 1: no future. The wilderness stretched endlessly around her, silent and indifferent.
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  Speaker 1: The sun beat down, the wind carried no comfort, and
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  Speaker 1: in the depths of her despair, a thought rose in
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  Speaker 1: her mind. I am nothing. I have always been nothing.
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  Speaker 1: No one sees me, no one knows my name. But
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  Speaker 1: she was wrong, because at that moment, the Angel of
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  Speaker 1: the Lord found her. He appeared beside the spring, and
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  Speaker 1: his voice was, gentle Hagar, slave of Sarah, Where have
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  Speaker 1: you come from and where are you going? She looked up, startled.
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  Speaker 1: This stranger knew her name, not just her name, but
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  Speaker 1: her story. He knew she was Sarah's slave, He knew
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  Speaker 1: where she had come from. I'm running away from my mistress, Sarah,
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  Speaker 1: she said, her voice breaking. The angel's response was not
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  Speaker 1: what she expected. He didn't tell her she was right
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  Speaker 1: to run. He didn't promise her freedom or a new
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  Speaker 1: life far away. Instead, he said, go back to your
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  Speaker 1: mistress and submit to her. Go back to the mistreatment,
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  Speaker 1: to the pain, to the life where she was invisible.
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  Speaker 1: But then the angel continued, and what he said next
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  Speaker 1: changed everything. I will increase your descendants so much that
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  Speaker 1: they will be too numerous to count. The slave girl,
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  Speaker 1: the nobody, the one with no future. She was being
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  Speaker 1: given a promise, not just survival, but a legacy, a future,
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  Speaker 1: descendants beyond number. The angel went on, You are now pregnant,
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  Speaker 1: and you will give birth to a son. You shall
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  Speaker 1: name him Ishmael. For the Lord has heard of your misery. Ishmael.
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  Speaker 1: The name means God hears. Every time she spoke her
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  Speaker 1: son's name, she would remember God heard her cries in
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  Speaker 1: the wilderness. God saw her pain, God knew her story.
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: And then Hagar did something extraordinary. She gave the Lord
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: a name, not the name he had revealed to Abraham
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: or Sarah, but a name born from her own experience.
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: She said, you are the God who sees me. In
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: Hebrew el Roi, the God who sees. I have now
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: seen the one who sees me, she whispered, and she
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: called the well bier lahai Roi, which means the well
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: of the living one who sees me. Hagar returned to
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: Sarah's household. She bore her son and named him Ishmael,
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: just as the angel had said. And though her life
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: was still hard, though she was still a slave, she
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: carried something no one could take from her. She had
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: been seen, She had been known, she had been heard.
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: This is one of the most tender stories in all
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: of scripture. Hagar was not part of the Covenant line.
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: She was not a matriarch of Israel. She was an
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: Egyptian slave, a woman on the margins of the story,
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: and yet God sent his angel to her. He didn't
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: send the angel to Abraham that day. He didn't appear
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: to Sarah. He went to the runaway slave girl weeping
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: by a spring in the desert. Because God sees the invisible.
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: He sees the slave, the refugee, the single mother, the abandoned,
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: the forgotten. Hagar's story reminds us that no one is
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: beneath God's notice. No pain is too small for him
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: to care about. No cry goes unheard. The angel didn't
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: remove Hagar from her difficult situation. He sent her back,
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: but he went with her. He gave her a promise.
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: He gave her a name for God that no one
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: else had spoken. El Roy, the God who sees. If
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: you feel invisible to night, remember Hagar, God saw a
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: runaway slave in the wilderness. He knows your name. He
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: counts your tears, he hears the cries you've never spoken aloud,
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: and the well it was there all along. She just
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: needed someone to show her. Sometimes the miracle is not
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: new water from heaven, but opened eyes to see what
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: grace has already provided. El Roy, the God who sees you,
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: not just your circumstances, not just your successes or failures.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: He sees you the heart, the hope, the hidden pain,
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: and he has sent his angels to remind you you
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: are not forgotten. Chapter four, Jacob's Ladder, Heaven touches Earth.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: Jacob was running for his life. He had just deceived
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: his father, stolen his brother's blessing, and now Esau, strong,
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: fierce Esau wanted him dead. So Jacob fled, leaving behind
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: everything he knew, heading toward the distant land of his
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: uncle Laban. He traveled all day, and as the sun
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: began to set, he found himself in the middle of nowhere.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: No town, no shelter, just rocky barren wilderness, stretching in
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: every direction. Exhausted, he found a place to stop for
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: the night. He took a stone, placed it under his
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: head as a pillow, and lay down under the open sky.
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: It wasn't comfortable. The stone was hard, the round was cold,
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: and his heart was heavy. As he closed his eyes,
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: a thought circled through his mind, relentless and accusing, Have
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: I gone too far? Can God even reach me here?
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: I lead, I deceived my own father, I've broken everything.
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: Maybe Heaven has closed its doors to someone like me.
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: But Jacob was wrong. Because that night heaven opened. He
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: began to dream, and in the dream he saw a stairway.
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: It was set on the earth, but its top reached
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: all the way to Heaven. And on that stairway angels
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: were moving. Some were ascending, others were descending, an endless procession,
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: traveling between Earth and Heaven. And there above the stairway
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: stood the Lord. His voice filled the dream, powerful yet warm,
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: like the voice of a father who had been waiting
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: to speak. I am the Lord, the God of your
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth,
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: and you will spread out to the west and to
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: the east, to the north and to the south. All
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: Then the Lord said something that pierced through Jacob's fear,
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: like light breaking through clouds. I am with you and
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: will watch over you wherever you go, and I will
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: bring you back to this land. I will not leave
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: you until I have done what I have promised you.
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: I am with you. I will not leave you. Jacob
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: woke suddenly, his heart pounding. The stars were still overhead,
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: the stone was still beneath his head, but everything felt different. Surely,
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: the Lord is in this place, he whispered, and I
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: was not aware of it. Fear gripped him, not the
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: fear of judgment, but the fear of awe. How awesome
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: is this place. This is none other than the House
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: of God. This is the gate of Heaven. Early the
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: next morning, Jacob took the stone he had used as
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: a pillow and set it up as a pillar. He
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: poured oil on top of it as an act of worship,
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: and named the place Bethel, which means house of God.
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: Then he made a vow. If God will be with
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: me and will watch over me on this journey i
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: am taking, and will give me food to eat and
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: clothes to wear, so that I return safely to my
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: father's household, then the Lord will be my God. This
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: vision was more than a dream. It was a revelation
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: of how heaven and Earth are connected. The stairway or
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: ladder as it is often called, wasn't just a symbol.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: It revealed a profound truth. Heaven and Earth are not separate.
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: They are joined, and the connection point is guarded and
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: traveled by angels. The angels ascending carried the prayers, the cries,
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: the needs of humanity up to the throne of God God.
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: The angels descending brought answers, blessings, protection, and the presence
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: of God back down to Earth. It's a picture of intercession,
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: of ministry, of the invisible work happening all around us
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: every moment, as Heaven serves humanity. Centuries later, Jesus himself
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: would refer to this vision. He was speaking to a
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: man named Nathaniel, and he said, very truly, I tell
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: you you will see Heaven open and the angels of
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: God ascending and descending on the son of Man. Jesus
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: was declaring himself to be the true ladder, the bridge,
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: the way between Heaven and Earth. Through him, the gap
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: is closed through him, access to God is open. Through him,
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: Heaven touches Earth. Jacob's vision was a foretaste of what
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: was to come, a glimpse of the Gospel itself. But
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: in that moment, lying on the hard ground with a
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: stone for a pillow, Jacob learns something life changing. God
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: meets us where we are, not where we should be,
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: not where we pretend to be, where we actually are.
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: Jacob was a deceiver, a manipulator, a man running from
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: the consequences of his own choices, and yet God appeared
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: to him, made promises to him, and assured him, I
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: am with you. That's grace. You don't have to clean
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: yourself up before God will meet you. You don't have
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: to earn his presence. You don't have to prove you're worthy.
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: He comes to you in the wilderness, in the lonely places,
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: in the moments when you feel furthest from Him and
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: the angels. They are still moving, still ascending and descending,
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: still carrying your prayers to Heaven, still bringing God's presence
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: back to you. Heaven is closer than we think, and
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: even when we feel most alone, the gate is open.
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: Chapter five, Balem's Donkey the Angel in the Road. This
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: is one of the strangest stories in the entire Bible,
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: and yet it teaches us something profound about angels, obedience,
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: and the danger of a divided heart. Balem was a prophet,
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: not an Israelite, but a man known throughout the region
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: for his spiritual power. People believed that whomever Balam blessed
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: would be blessed, and whomever he cursed would be cursed.
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: One day, messengers arrived at his home. They had been
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: sent by Balak, the king of Moab, and they carried
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: an urgent request and a generous payment. A people has
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: come out of Egypt, they said. They cover the face
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: of the land and have settled next to me. Now
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: come and put a curse on these people, because they
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: able to defeat them and drive them away. For I
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: know that whoever you blanless is blest, and whoever you
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: curse is cursed. The people they were speaking of were
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: the Israelites, God's chosen people, and Baalac wanted Balam to
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: curse them. Balam told the messengers to stay the knight
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: and he would seek the Lord's guidance. That night, God
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: spoke to him, clearly, do not go with them. You
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: must not put a curse on those people, because they
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: are blessed. The next morning, Balam sent the messengers away,
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: go back to your own country, for the Lord has
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: refused to let me go with you. But Baalac didn't
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: give up. He sent more messengers, more distinguished than the first,
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: with even greater promises of reward and honor, and this
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: time Balam hesitated. He told them to stay the night again,
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: and once more he inquired of the Lord. God's response
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: was different this time, Since these men have come to
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: summon you go with them, but do only what I
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: tell you. So Balam saddled him donkey and set out
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: with the officials of Moab. But God was angry, not
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: because Balam went, God had given him permission, but because
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: Balam's heart was divided. He wanted the money, he wanted
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: the honor. He was going with the right words on
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: his lips, but the wrong desire in his heart. The
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: apostle Peter would later write of Balem, son of Beor,
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: who loved the wages of wickedness, and the Book of
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: Jude mentions the error of Balam. He spoke God's words, yes,
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: but his heart was always chasing prophet. And so as
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: Balam rode along the road, the Angel of the Lord
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: took a stand against him. The angel stood in the
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: road with a drawn sword in his hand, blocking the way,
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: but Balam didn't see him. His eyes were blind to
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: the danger ahead. The donkey, however, saw the angel clearly,
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: and she veered off the road into a field. Trying
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: to avoid him. Balem beat her, angry at the delay,
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: and forced her back on to the path. The angel
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: moved again, this time standing in a narrow section between
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: two vineyards with walls on both sides. When the donkey
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: saw the angel, she pressed close to the wall, crushing
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: Balam's foot against it. Balem beat her again, harder this time.
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: Then the angel moved once more, standing in a place
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: so narrow that there was no room to turn either
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: to the right or to the left. When the donkey
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: saw him, she simply lay down under Balam, refusing to move.
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: Balem's anger exploded. He beat the donkey with his staff,
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: shouting in frustration, and then something extraordinary happened. The Lord
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: opened the donkey's mouth, and she spoke, What have I
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: done to you to make you beat me these three times?
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: She asked. Balam, so consumed by his rage that he
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: didn't even stop to question how his donkey was speaking,
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: shouted back, you have made a fool of me. If
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: only I had a sword in my hand, I would
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: kill you right now. The donkey answered, Am I not
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: your own donkey which you have always ridden to this day?
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: Have I been in the habit of doing this to you, no,
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: Balam admitted. Then the Lord opened Balem's eyes and he
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the road
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: with his sword drawn. Balam fell face down, trembling. The
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: Angel spoke, and his voice was stern. Why have you
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: to oppose you because your path is a reckless one
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: before me. The donkey saw me and turned away from
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: me these three times. If she had not turned away,
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: I would certainly have killed you by now, but I
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: would have spared her. Balam confessed, I have sinned. I
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: did not realize you were standing in the road to
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: oppose me. Now, if you are displeased, I will go back.
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: But the Angel said, go with the men, but speak
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: only what I tell you. Balem continued on, and when
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: he finally stood before Ballack, every time he opened his
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: mouth to curse Israel, blessings came out instead. He couldn't
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: curse them, no matter how much gold he was offered,
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: because the words were not his. They were gods. This
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: story is wild, a talking donkey, an invisible angel, a
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: prophet who couldn't see what his animal could, But beneath
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: the strangeness is a powerful lesson. Sometimes the very thing
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: we think is blocking us is actually saving us. Balem
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: thought the donkey was being stubborn. He beat her for it,
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: he cursed her, he wanted to kill her, But she
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: was the only reason he was still alive. The angel
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: wasn't there to guide Balem forward. He was there to
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: stop him, to oppose him, because Balem's heart was corrupt
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: and his path was leading to destruction. And the donkey,
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: the humble, despised beast of burden, saw what the prophet
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: could not. How often do we do the same. How
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: often do we fight against the very obstacles that God
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: has placed in our path to protect us. The delay
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: you're frustrated with, the door that won't open, the person
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: who said no, the plan that fell apart at the
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: last minute. What if that's not a setback? What if
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: that's an angel in the road, blocking a path that
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: would have destroyed you. Sometimes God doesn't answer your prayer
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: the way you want, because he loves you too much
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: to give you what would harm you. Balem wanted wealth
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: and honor. He got them eventually, but they led to
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: his ruin. The man who once heard from God ended
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: up dying in battle alongside Israel's enemies. The donkey saw
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: what Balem could not. What if the obstacle you're fighting
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: against right now is actually an angel in the road.
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: What if the delay you resent is the hand of
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: God protecting you from something you cannot see. The donkey
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: saw what Balem could not, And tonight, perhaps the smallest
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: voice in your life is the one speaking the loudest truth.
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: Chapter six, The Fiery Furnace. The fourth Man, King Nebuchadnezzar
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: of Babylon, had built an image of gold. It stood
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: ninety feet high and nine feet wide, towering over the
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: plain of Dura. The sun glinted off its surface, and
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: from miles away people could see it gleaming like a
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: second son. The king issued a decree. When the music
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: played the sound of horns, flutes, liars, and harps, everyone
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: in the kingdom was to bow down and worship the image.
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: Anyone who refused would be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace.
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: The day came, as governors and people from every province
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: gathered on the plain. The music began to play, and
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: as one the crowd fell to their knees, but three
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: men remained standing Shadrach, Meshach and abd Nigo, three young
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: Jewish men who had been taken captive years earlier and
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: brought to Babylon. They had served the king faithfully, they
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: had been given positions of authority, but there was one
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: thing they would not do. They would not bow to
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: an idol. Someone noticed someone always does. The officials rushed
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: to the king and said, your majesty, there are some
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: Jews Shadrak, Mishak, and Abdnigo, whom you have set over
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: the affairs of the province of Babylon. They pay no
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: attention to you. They neither serve your gods nor worship
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: the image of gold you have set up. Nebuchadnezza was furious.
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: He summoned the three men and gave them one more chance.
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: Is it true that you do not serve my gods
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: or worship the image I have set up? Now, when
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: you hear the music, if you are ready to fall
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: down and worship the image I made, very good. But
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: if you do not worship it, you will be thrown
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what God will be
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: able to rescue you from my hand? It was a threat,
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: a challenge, an ultimatum. Shadrak, Mishak and Abed Nago stood
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: calmly before the king. Their answer was steady, unshaken, King,
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: nebukud Nezar, we do not need to defend ourselves before
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: you in this matter. If we are thrown into the
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: blazing furnace, the god we serve is able to deliver
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: us from it, and he will deliver us from your
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: Majesty's hand. Then they said something even more powerful. But
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: even if he does not, we want you to know,
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: worship the image of gold you have set up, even
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: if he does does not. That's faith, not demanding deliverance,
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: not bargaining, not presuming, just trusting and refusing to compromise
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: no matter the cost. Nebuchadnezzar's face twisted with rage. He
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual.
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: It blazed so fiercely that the soldiers who threw the
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: three men into the fire were killed by the heat. Shadrak,
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: Meshak and Abednigo, fully clothed and bound, fell into the
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: roaring flames. And then the king saw something that made
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: him leap to his feet. Weren't there three men that
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: we tied up and threw into the fire, He asked
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: his advisers. Certainly, your majesty, they replied, Look, the King said,
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: the gods. A fourth man walking with them in the flames.
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: Nebucadnza approached the furnace and shouted, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: servants of the Most High God, come out. They walked out,
• 41:10
  Speaker 1: not carried, not dragged. They walked. The fire had not
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: harmed them. Not a single hair singed. Their robes remained untouched,
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: as if the flames had been nothing but cool air.
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: Even the smell of smoke was absent. The king stared
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: in wonder. Then he said, praise be to the God
• 41:31
  Speaker 1: of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: and rescued his servants. An angel, that's what Nebucadnezza called him.
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: But who was the fourth man in the fire. Most
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: conservative Christian scholars believe it was a Christophane, the pre
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: incarnate Christ appearing before his birth in Bethlehem. This view
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: affirms that Jesus, as the eternal son of God, was
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: active in Salvation history from the very beginning. He didn't
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: begin to exist when Mary gave birth. He has always been,
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: and at critical moments in history he appeared to his people.
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: Jewish tradition often identifies this figure as the archangel Michael,
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: God's champion and protector of Israel. Either way, the message
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: resounds clearly. Heaven sent a deliverer into the furnace with them.
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: God didn't prevent the fire, he didn't stop the king,
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: he didn't strike down the soldiers. He let his servants
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: be thrown into the flames, but he didn't leave them
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: there alone. That's the promise we cling to. Not that
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: we'll be spared from trials, not that life will be
• 42:42
  Speaker 1: easy if we follow God, but that when we walk
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: through the fire, we will not walk alone. Isaiah the
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: prophet wrote, when you walk through the fire, you will
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: not be burned. The flames will not set you a blaze.
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: Not if you walk through the fire, when trys will come.
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: Suffering is part of living in a broken world. But
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: God's presence in the fire changes everything. The fourth Man
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: walked with them, and because he was there, the fire
• 43:12
  Speaker 1: lost its power. It could touch their ropes those were
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: burned away, but it couldn't touch them. Sometimes God delivers
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: us from the trial, sometimes he delivers us through it,
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: and sometimes the trial itself becomes the place where we
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: meet him most deeply. Shadrach, Meshak and Abednigo met God
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: in the furnace, not before, not after, in the middle
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: of the flames. And when they came out they were different,
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: not because they had been burned, but because they had
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: been refined in the furnace. Faith is not destroyed, it
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: is purified. And the fire that was meant to kill
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: them became the testimony that convinced a pagan king to
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: praise the God of Israel. To night. If you feel
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: the heat rising, remember this, you are not alone. The
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: fourth Man still walks in the fire, and the flames,
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: no matter how fierce, cannot separate you from his love.
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: Chapter seven, Daniel in the Lion's Den mouths shut by
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: an angel. There are moments in history when faith is
• 44:24
  Speaker 1: tested not by fire but by fangs. Daniel was an
• 44:28
  Speaker 1: old man now. He had served four kings across two empires.
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: He had been a teenager when he was taken captive
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: from Jerusalem and brought to Babylon. Now decades later, he
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: was one of the most powerful men in the Persian Empire.
• 44:45
  Speaker 1: King Darius had appointed him as one of three administrators
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: over the entire kingdom, and Daniel distinguished himself above all
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: the others because of his exceptional qualities. The king planned
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: to set him over the whole king kingdom, but not
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: everyone was pleased. The other administrators and satraps were jealous.
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: They searched desperately for some charge to bring against Daniel
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: in his conduct of government affairs, but they could find
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: no corruption in him. He was trustworthy, he made no mistakes,
• 45:18
  Speaker 1: he did nothing wrong. Finally, they said to one another,
• 45:22
  Speaker 1: we will never find any basis for charges against this
• 45:25
  Speaker 1: man Daniel, unless it has something to do with the
• 45:28
  Speaker 1: law of his God. So they devised a trap. They
• 45:32
  Speaker 1: went as a group to King Darius and said, may
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: King Darius live forever. All the royal administrators, prefects, say traps,
• 45:41
  Speaker 1: advisers and governors have agreed that the king should issue
• 45:45
  Speaker 1: an edict and enforce the decree that any one who
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: prays to any god or human being during the next
• 45:51
  Speaker 1: thirty days except to you, your majesty shall be thrown
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: into the lion's den. It was flattery wrapped in poison.
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: They appealed to Darius's pride, making it seem like a
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: simple display of loyalty, and they knew Daniel would never obey. Darius,
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: flattered and unaware of the plot, signed the decree. According
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: to the low of the Meads and Persians, it could
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: not be repealed. When Daniel learned that the decree had
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: been published, he went home to his upstairs room. The
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: windows opened toward Jerusalem, the city of his youth, the
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: city of the temple, now lying in ruins, And there,
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: just as he had done three times a day for
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: his entire life, he knelt down and prayed. He didn't hide,
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: he didn't close the windows, he didn't whisper his prayers
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: in secret. As his knees touched the floor, a quiet
• 46:48
  Speaker 1: thought passed through his mind. Their watching there, waiting for
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: this moment. But if I stop now, I stopped being
• 46:56
  Speaker 1: who I am. He prayed openly, just as he all
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: always had, giving thanks to his God. The men who
• 47:03
  Speaker 1: had set the trap were watching. They rushed back to
• 47:06
  Speaker 1: the king. Did you not publish a decree that during
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: the next thirty days, any one who prays to any
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: God or human being except to you, your Majesty, would
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: be thrown into the lion's den. The king answered, the
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: decree stands in accordance with the law of the Medes
• 47:23
  Speaker 1: and Persians, which cannot be repealed. Then they said, Daniel,
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no
• 47:30
  Speaker 1: attention to you, your Majesty, or to the decree you
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: put in writing. He still prays three times a day.
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: Darius's heart sank. He realized immediately that he had been tricked.
• 47:43
  Speaker 1: He was furious with himself. He spent the rest of
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: the day trying to find a way to save Daniel,
• 47:49
  Speaker 1: but the law was clear. There was no loophole, no escape.
• 47:54
  Speaker 1: At sunset, the men pressed him again, remember your Majesty
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: that according to the law of the Medes and Persians,
• 48:03
  Speaker 1: no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: So the king gave the order and Daniel was arrested.
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: They brought him to the lion's Den, a deep pit
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: where the empire's most dangerous lions were kept. These were
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: not tame animals. They were starving predators used for executions.
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: Men thrown into that den were torn apart within moments.
• 48:28
  Speaker 1: As they lowered Daniel into the pit, King Darius looked
• 48:31
  Speaker 1: down at him, his face filled with anguish. May your God,
• 48:36
  Speaker 1: whom you serve, continually rescue you, he called out. Then
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: a stone was brought and placed over the mouth of
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: the den. The king sealed it with his own signet
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: ring and the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: situation might not be changed. Darius returned to his palace,
• 48:54
  Speaker 1: but he could not eat, he could not sleep, He
• 48:57
  Speaker 1: refused entertainment. They awake all night, tormented by what he
• 49:03
  Speaker 1: had done. Meanwhile, in the darkness of the den, Daniel
• 49:07
  Speaker 1: was not alone. The lions circled him. Their eyes glowed
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: in the shadows. Their breath was hot and foul. They
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: were hungry, dangerous, designed to kill. But they did not
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: attack because standing between Daniel and the beasts was an
• 49:25
  Speaker 1: Angel of the Lord, invisible to human eyes but perfectly
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: clear to the lions. And at the angel's command, their
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: mouths were shut. They lay down, They grew calm, and Daniel,
• 49:39
  Speaker 1: in the presence of his God, rested in peace. When
• 49:43
  Speaker 1: the first light of dawn broke over the palace, Darius
• 49:46
  Speaker 1: leaped from his bed and hurried to the lion's den.
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: His voice was filled with anguish as he called out, Daniel,
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: servant of the Living God, has your God, whom you
• 49:57
  Speaker 1: serve continually been able to rescue you from the lions?
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: From deep within the pit? A voice answered, strong, steady alive.
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: May the King live forever. My God sent his angel,
• 50:11
  Speaker 1: and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have
• 50:15
  Speaker 1: not hurt me because I was found innocent in his sight,
• 50:19
  Speaker 1: nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your majesty.
• 50:22
  Speaker 1: Darius was overjoyed. He ordered Daniel to be lifted out
• 50:26
  Speaker 1: of the den immediately. When they pulled him up, there
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: was not a scratch on him, not a tear in
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: his clothing, not a mark from the lion's clause, because
• 50:37
  Speaker 1: he had trusted in his God. Then the king's fury
• 50:40
  Speaker 1: turned toward the men who had accused Daniel. He gave
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: an order, and they were brought to the den, along
• 50:46
  Speaker 1: with their wives and children. Before they even reached the
• 50:49
  Speaker 1: floor of the pit, the lions overpowered them and crushed
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: all their bones. The same lions that had left Daniel
• 50:57
  Speaker 1: untouched tore his accusers apart. In an instant it was
• 51:01
  Speaker 1: clear to every one the lions had not been tame,
• 51:05
  Speaker 1: they had been restrained by the power of God. King
• 51:09
  Speaker 1: Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every
• 51:12
  Speaker 1: language throughout the land, I issue a decree that in
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence
• 51:19
  Speaker 1: the God of Daniel. For he is the living God,
• 51:22
  Speaker 1: and he endures forever. His kingdom will not be destroyed.
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: His dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves,
• 51:31
  Speaker 1: He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on
• 51:35
  Speaker 1: the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: the lions, and Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius
• 51:42
  Speaker 1: and the reign of Cyrus the Persian. The story of
• 51:45
  Speaker 1: Daniel in the Lions den is one of the most
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: beloved in all of Scripture. It has been told to
• 51:50
  Speaker 1: children for thousands of years. But it is not a
• 51:54
  Speaker 1: fairy tale. It is a testimony, a testimony that when
• 51:59
  Speaker 1: you remain faith, even when it costs you everything, God
• 52:03
  Speaker 1: does not abandon you. Daniel could have compromised, He could
• 52:07
  Speaker 1: have prayed in secret. He could have waited thirty days,
• 52:11
  Speaker 1: but he didn't because his relationship with God was not negotiable,
• 52:16
  Speaker 1: and because of that faithfulness, God sent his Angel. The
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: Angel didn't remove Daniel from the den. He didn't open
• 52:24
  Speaker 1: the stone or break the seal. He simply stood between
• 52:28
  Speaker 1: Daniel and death, and that was enough. Sometimes God's deliverance
• 52:33
  Speaker 1: doesn't look like escape. It looks like peace in the
• 52:36
  Speaker 1: middle of danger, courage in the face of fear, rest
• 52:40
  Speaker 1: in the midst of the storm. The lions are still there,
• 52:44
  Speaker 1: but their mouths are shut. The danger is real, but
• 52:49
  Speaker 1: so is the Angel. And sometimes the greatest miracle is
• 52:53
  Speaker 1: not being removed from the trial, but finding peace within it.
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: Centuries would passires would rise and fall, prophets would speak,
• 53:03
  Speaker 1: and kingdoms would crumble, but Heaven's messengers never rested, and now,
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: in the fullness of time, the greatest message of all
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: was about to be delivered. Chapter eight, The Angel and
• 53:17
  Speaker 1: Mary Gabriel's announcement to a young woman in a forgotten
• 53:22
  Speaker 1: town called Nazareth. The town was small and unremarkable, tucked
• 53:27
  Speaker 1: into the hills of Galilee. It was the kind of
• 53:30
  Speaker 1: place people passed through but rarely remembered. There were no
• 53:34
  Speaker 1: great temples. There no palaces, no scholars or priests of renown,
• 53:40
  Speaker 1: just ordinary people living ordinary lives. Among them was a
• 53:44
  Speaker 1: young woman named Mary. She was probably no more than
• 53:48
  Speaker 1: fourteen or fifteen years old, betrothed to a carpenter named Joseph.
• 53:53
  Speaker 1: In that culture, betrothal was as binding as marriage itself.
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: The wedding had not yet taken place, but in the
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: eyes of the community, she already belonged to him. Her
• 54:04
  Speaker 1: days were simple, drawing water from the well, grinding grain,
• 54:10
  Speaker 1: weaving cloth, preparing for the life she would soon begin
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: as Joseph's wife. She had no reason to expect that
• 54:17
  Speaker 1: her life would be anything other than ordinary. But Heaven
• 54:21
  Speaker 1: had been watching her, and Heaven had chosen her for
• 54:24
  Speaker 1: something extraordinary. It was an ordinary day. Mary was alone,
• 54:30
  Speaker 1: perhaps in her home, going about her tasks. The sunlight
• 54:34
  Speaker 1: filtered through the small window. The air was still, and then,
• 54:39
  Speaker 1: without warning, the room filled with light. Not the light
• 54:43
  Speaker 1: of the sun, something else, something that seemed to come
• 54:47
  Speaker 1: from within itself, warm and alive and impossibly bright. Mary
• 54:52
  Speaker 1: looked up, her heart pounding, and there standing before her
• 54:57
  Speaker 1: was a figure unlike any one she had ever scene.
• 55:01
  Speaker 1: He was tall, radiant, clothed in garments that seemed woven
• 55:05
  Speaker 1: from light itself. His face was kind, but it held
• 55:08
  Speaker 1: a gravity that made her breath catch. His eyes were deep,
• 55:12
  Speaker 1: as if they had witnessed the creation of the world
• 55:15
  Speaker 1: and would witness its end. This was Gabriel, the Archangel,
• 55:20
  Speaker 1: the same messenger who had appeared to Daniel's centuries before
• 55:24
  Speaker 1: to reveal the timeline of the Messiah's coming, and now
• 55:28
  Speaker 1: that time line had arrived. Gabriel's voice was gentle, but
• 55:32
  Speaker 1: it carried the weight of eternity. Greetings, you, who are
• 55:36
  Speaker 1: highly favored. The Lord is with you. Mary was deeply
• 55:40
  Speaker 1: troubled by his words, not by his appearance, though that
• 55:44
  Speaker 1: was overwhelming, but by the greeting itself. Highly favored. Why
• 55:49
  Speaker 1: would an angel say such a thing to me? She
• 55:52
  Speaker 1: was nobody, a young girl in a forgotten town. What
• 55:56
  Speaker 1: could this mean? Gabriel saw her fear and spoke again,
• 56:00
  Speaker 1: his voice softening. Do not be afraid, Mary, You have
• 56:04
  Speaker 1: found favor with God. Then he delivered the message he
• 56:08
  Speaker 1: had carried from the throne of Heaven. You will conceive
• 56:11
  Speaker 1: and give birth to a son, and you are to
• 56:14
  Speaker 1: call him Jesus. He will be great and will be
• 56:17
  Speaker 1: called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God
• 56:20
  Speaker 1: will give him the throne of his father David, and
• 56:23
  Speaker 1: he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. His kingdom will
• 56:27
  Speaker 1: never end. Mary's mind reeled asson. But how she wasn't
• 56:34
  Speaker 1: even married yet. She and Joseph had not come together.
• 56:38
  Speaker 1: The laws of her people were strict. If she became pregnant,
• 56:42
  Speaker 1: now she could be accused of adultery, She could be
• 56:46
  Speaker 1: cast out, even stoned. Her voice was quiet, trembling, But
• 56:51
  Speaker 1: she asked the question that any young woman would ask,
• 56:55
  Speaker 1: how will this be? Since I am a virgin? It
• 56:59
  Speaker 1: wasn't doubt. It was an honest question. She wasn't asking
• 57:03
  Speaker 1: if it would happen. She was asking how. And Gabriel
• 57:07
  Speaker 1: answered with words that have echoed through the ages. The
• 57:11
  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of
• 57:14
  Speaker 1: the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one
• 57:17
  Speaker 1: to be born will be called the Son of God.
• 57:20
  Speaker 1: Even Elizabeth, your relative, is going to have a child
• 57:23
  Speaker 1: in her old age, And she who was said to
• 57:25
  Speaker 1: be unable to conceive, is in her sixth month. For
• 57:29
  Speaker 1: no word from God will ever fail Elizabeth, Mary's relative,
• 57:34
  Speaker 1: The one every one said was barren. She was pregnant
• 57:38
  Speaker 1: at her age. It was impossible, but it was true,
• 57:43
  Speaker 1: and if God could do that, he could do this.
• 57:46
  Speaker 1: Mary stood in the light of the Angel, her heart pounding.
• 57:50
  Speaker 1: Everything in her life was about to change, her reputation,
• 57:54
  Speaker 1: her safety, her future. She would be misunderstood, gossip to,
• 58:01
  Speaker 1: perhaps even rejected, But in that moment she made a
• 58:05
  Speaker 1: choice that altered the course of human history. She bowed
• 58:09
  Speaker 1: her head and said, I am the Lord's servant. May
• 58:12
  Speaker 1: your word to me be fulfilled. It was a yes,
• 58:16
  Speaker 1: a surrender, a trust so deep that it didn't need
• 58:20
  Speaker 1: to understand everything, And in that instant, through the power
• 58:24
  Speaker 1: of the Holy Spirit, the Word became flesh. The eternal
• 58:29
  Speaker 1: son of God, who had existed from before time began,
• 58:32
  Speaker 1: took on human nature within her womb. This was the
• 58:35
  Speaker 1: mystery of the incarnation, Fully God and fully Man, united
• 58:40
  Speaker 1: in one person. Gabriel's mission was complete. The light in
• 58:44
  Speaker 1: the room softened, and the Angel was gone. Mary stood
• 58:48
  Speaker 1: alone once more, her hands trembling, her heart full of
• 58:52
  Speaker 1: wonder and fear and a joy she could not yet name.
• 58:56
  Speaker 1: She placed her hand on her stomach. Inside her by
• 59:00
  Speaker 1: divine power, life had begun, not through human means, but
• 59:05
  Speaker 1: by the will of God, the child she would carry
• 59:08
  Speaker 1: was the Son of God, the long awaited Messiah, the
• 59:11
  Speaker 1: one prophesied for thousands of years, and she was his mother.
• 59:17
  Speaker 1: It's worth noting the contrast between Mary's response and that
• 59:20
  Speaker 1: of another who encountered Gabriel. Just months before, the Angel
• 59:24
  Speaker 1: had appeared to a priest named Zechariah in the temple
• 59:27
  Speaker 1: in Jerusalem. Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were old, well
• 59:32
  Speaker 1: past the age of childbearing. Gabriel told him that Elizabeth
• 59:36
  Speaker 1: would conceive a son, John, the one who would prepare
• 59:39
  Speaker 1: the way for the Messiah. But Zechariah doubted. How can
• 59:43
  Speaker 1: I be sure of this? He asked, I am an
• 59:47
  Speaker 1: old man, and my wife is well along in years.
• 59:50
  Speaker 1: Gabriel's response was swift. I am Gabriel. I stand in
• 59:55
  Speaker 1: the presence of God, and I have been sent to
• 59:58
  Speaker 1: speak to you and to tell you this good news.
• 1:00:01
  Speaker 1: And now you will be silent and not able to
• 1:00:04
  Speaker 1: speak until the day this happens. Because you did not
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 1: believe my words. Zechariah was struck mute until the day
• 1:00:12
  Speaker 1: his son was born. Mary also asked a question, how
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 1: will this be? But her question came from wonder not unbelief.
• 1:00:21
  Speaker 1: She believed the angel's word. She simply wanted to understand
• 1:00:25
  Speaker 1: the means, and Gabriel answered her gently, giving her a sign.
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 1: Elizabeth's pregnancy. Two people, two announcements, two responses. One was
• 1:00:37
  Speaker 1: silenced for a season, the other was blessed. The difference
• 1:00:42
  Speaker 1: was the posture of the heart. Mary's yes changed everything.
• 1:00:48
  Speaker 1: It set in motion the fulfillment of every prophecy, every promise,
• 1:00:52
  Speaker 1: every hope that had been spoken since the Garden of Eden.
• 1:00:56
  Speaker 1: Because of her yes, the Son of God took on
• 1:00:59
  Speaker 1: human flesh. Because of her yes, Heaven and Earth were
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 1: joined in a way they had never been before. And
• 1:01:06
  Speaker 1: it began in a quiet room with a young girl
• 1:01:08
  Speaker 1: and an angel, and a willingness to say, let it
• 1:01:11
  Speaker 1: be to me, according to your word. The role of
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 1: angels in the Christmas story is often overlooked. We focus
• 1:01:19
  Speaker 1: on the baby in the manger, the shepherd's the wise men.
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 1: But before any of that there was Gabriel. He was
• 1:01:27
  Speaker 1: the bridge between Heaven's plan and Earth's participation. He carried
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 1: the message, He reassured the frightened, He confirmed the impossible,
• 1:01:37
  Speaker 1: and he did it with gentleness and reverence, because he
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 1: knew he was standing in the presence of the woman
• 1:01:43
  Speaker 1: who would give birth to his king. Mary's journey was
• 1:01:47
  Speaker 1: just beginning. She would soon travel to visit Elizabeth, and
• 1:01:51
  Speaker 1: the baby in Elizabeth's womb would leap for joy at
• 1:01:53
  Speaker 1: the sound of Mary's voice. She would sing the Magnificat,
• 1:01:57
  Speaker 1: a song of praise that revealed the depth of her faith.
• 1:02:01
  Speaker 1: She would endure the whispers and the shame. She would
• 1:02:04
  Speaker 1: flee to Egypt to protect her son. She would watch
• 1:02:07
  Speaker 1: him grow, teach, heal, and proclaim the Kingdom of God.
• 1:02:12
  Speaker 1: And one day she would stand at the foot of
• 1:02:14
  Speaker 1: a cross and watch him die. But none of that
• 1:02:18
  Speaker 1: had happened yet. In this moment, she was simply a
• 1:02:21
  Speaker 1: young woman who had said yes. And because she said yes,
• 1:02:26
  Speaker 1: the world would never be the same. When God asks
• 1:02:29
  Speaker 1: the impossible, he also provides the power to do it.
• 1:02:33
  Speaker 1: Mary didn't understand everything, but she trusted the voice of
• 1:02:36
  Speaker 1: the Angel, and that was enough. Chapter nine, the Angel
• 1:02:43
  Speaker 1: frees Peter chains fell off. The church was in crisis.
• 1:02:48
  Speaker 1: King Herod Agrippa had decided to win favor with the
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 1: Jewish leaders by persecuting the followers of Jesus. He had
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 1: already executed James, the brother of John, with the sword,
• 1:03:00
  Speaker 1: And when he saw that this pleased the religious authorities,
• 1:03:03
  Speaker 1: he went further. He arrested Peter, Peter the Rock, the
• 1:03:09
  Speaker 1: one Jesus had called to lead, the one who had
• 1:03:12
  Speaker 1: preached at Pentecost and seen three thousand souls saved in
• 1:03:15
  Speaker 1: a single day, the one who had healed the lame
• 1:03:18
  Speaker 1: Man at the temple gate and raised Tabitha from the dead.
• 1:03:22
  Speaker 1: Now he sat in chains, guarded by sixteen soldiers, waiting
• 1:03:27
  Speaker 1: for his trial. Herod planned to bring him out for
• 1:03:30
  Speaker 1: public execution after the Passover. It seemed hopeless. James was
• 1:03:35
  Speaker 1: already dead, Peter would be next. The leaders of the
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 1: church were being systematically destroyed, but the church did the
• 1:03:43
  Speaker 1: only thing it could do. It prayed. The scripture says
• 1:03:48
  Speaker 1: so Peter was kept in prison, but the church was
• 1:03:51
  Speaker 1: earnestly praying to God for him. Earnestly that word means persistent, intense, unceasing.
• 1:03:59
  Speaker 1: They were and offering casual prayers. They were crying out
• 1:04:03
  Speaker 1: to God day and night, pleading for his intervention, believing
• 1:04:07
  Speaker 1: that the same God who had delivered Daniel from the
• 1:04:10
  Speaker 1: lions could deliver Peter from Herod. The night before Peter's trial,
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 1: he was sleeping between two soldiers. He was bound with
• 1:04:19
  Speaker 1: two chains, one on each wrist, fastened to the men
• 1:04:22
  Speaker 1: on either side of him. Sentries stood guard at the
• 1:04:25
  Speaker 1: entrance to the cell. Every precaution had been taken. There
• 1:04:29
  Speaker 1: would be no escape. But Peter was asleep. Think about that.
• 1:04:34
  Speaker 1: The night before his execution. He was sleeping, not tossing
• 1:04:39
  Speaker 1: and turning, not lying awake in fear, sleeping. As he
• 1:04:44
  Speaker 1: lay there in the darkness, chained between two soldiers who
• 1:04:48
  Speaker 1: snored softly, A memory drifted through his mind, Jesus standing
• 1:04:53
  Speaker 1: on the shore after the Resurrection, asking him three times
• 1:04:57
  Speaker 1: do you love me? And Peter's answer, Lord, you know
• 1:05:01
  Speaker 1: all things. You know that I love you. Jesus had said,
• 1:05:06
  Speaker 1: feed my sheep, and Peter had done that. If this
• 1:05:10
  Speaker 1: was the end, he had done what he was called
• 1:05:13
  Speaker 1: to do. He had learned through years of walking with
• 1:05:16
  Speaker 1: Jesus that worry changes nothing, and God is faithful even
• 1:05:21
  Speaker 1: in prison. Suddenly a light shone in the cell, not
• 1:05:26
  Speaker 1: the flickering light of a torch, but a radiance that
• 1:05:29
  Speaker 1: filled every corner of the darkness. An Angel of the
• 1:05:32
  Speaker 1: Lord appeared and stood beside him. The Angel reached out
• 1:05:35
  Speaker 1: and struck Peter on the side, not hard enough to hurt,
• 1:05:39
  Speaker 1: but enough to wake him. Quick, get up, the angel said,
• 1:05:43
  Speaker 1: and the chains fell off Peter's wrists just like that.
• 1:05:48
  Speaker 1: They didn't unlock, they didn't loosen, They simply fell away,
• 1:05:53
  Speaker 1: clattering to the stone floor. The two soldiers on either
• 1:05:56
  Speaker 1: side of him didn't wake, they didn't move, They slept,
• 1:06:00
  Speaker 1: as if held in place by an unseen hand. Peter blinked,
• 1:06:04
  Speaker 1: still groggy, trying to make sense of what was happening.
• 1:06:08
  Speaker 1: Is this real or am I dreaming? The angel spoke again,
• 1:06:13
  Speaker 1: his voice calm and authoritative. Put on your clothes and sandals.
• 1:06:18
  Speaker 1: Peter obeyed, moving slowly, still half convinced this was a vision.
• 1:06:23
  Speaker 1: Wrap your cloak around you and follow me, the angel said.
• 1:06:27
  Speaker 1: Peter followed. They walked past the first guard, then the second.
• 1:06:32
  Speaker 1: The soldiers stood at their posts, eyes open but unseeing,
• 1:06:36
  Speaker 1: as if a veil had been drawn over their sight.
• 1:06:39
  Speaker 1: They came to the iron gate leading to the city.
• 1:06:42
  Speaker 1: It was massive, locked, impossible to open from the inside,
• 1:06:47
  Speaker 1: but as they approached, the gate swung open by itself.
• 1:06:51
  Speaker 1: They walked through and continued down the street. The cool
• 1:06:55
  Speaker 1: night air hit Peter's face. The stars were bright overhead.
• 1:06:59
  Speaker 1: His feet moved one step after another, following the angel
• 1:07:03
  Speaker 1: through the silent city, and then suddenly the angel was gone.
• 1:07:09
  Speaker 1: Peter stopped. He looked around. He was standing alone in
• 1:07:13
  Speaker 1: the middle of the street, fully awake. Now his heart pounding.
• 1:07:17
  Speaker 1: Now I know without a doubt, he said aloud to
• 1:07:20
  Speaker 1: himself that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued
• 1:07:23
  Speaker 1: me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people
• 1:07:26
  Speaker 1: were hoping would happen. He had been freed, not by
• 1:07:30
  Speaker 1: human hands, but by the power of heaven. Peter made
• 1:07:34
  Speaker 1: his way to the house of Mary, the mother of
• 1:07:36
  Speaker 1: John Mark. It was late, well past midnight, but he
• 1:07:40
  Speaker 1: knew the believers would be there. They had been praying
• 1:07:44
  Speaker 1: for him without ceasing. He knocked on the outer entrance. Inside,
• 1:07:49
  Speaker 1: the sound echoed through the courtyard. A servant named Rhoda
• 1:07:53
  Speaker 1: came to answer. She called out, who is it. Peter's
• 1:07:57
  Speaker 1: voice came through the door. It's me, Peter. Rhoda's heart leaped.
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 1: She recognized his voice instantly, but she was so overjoyed,
• 1:08:08
  Speaker 1: so stunned, that she forgot to open the door. She
• 1:08:12
  Speaker 1: ran back inside, breathless, and told the others Peter is
• 1:08:16
  Speaker 1: at the door. They stared at her. You're out of
• 1:08:19
  Speaker 1: your mind, they said, but she kept insisting it's true.
• 1:08:23
  Speaker 1: He's there. Finally, some one said it must be his angel.
• 1:08:28
  Speaker 1: They believed God could send an angel, but they didn't
• 1:08:32
  Speaker 1: believe he could actually answer their prayer and free Peter. Meanwhile,
• 1:08:36
  Speaker 1: Peter kept knocking more insistently. Now, finally someone went to
• 1:08:41
  Speaker 1: the door and opened it, and there he stood, alive, free, smiling.
• 1:08:48
  Speaker 1: They were astonished. The room irrupted in joy and confusion.
• 1:08:53
  Speaker 1: Peter motioned for them to be quiet and told them
• 1:08:56
  Speaker 1: the whole story, how the angel had appeared, how the
• 1:09:00
  Speaker 1: chains had fallen off, how the gates had opened, how
• 1:09:04
  Speaker 1: God had delivered him. Then he said, tell James and
• 1:09:08
  Speaker 1: the other brothers about this, and he left, going to
• 1:09:12
  Speaker 1: another place to stay hidden from Herod's reach. The next morning,
• 1:09:16
  Speaker 1: there was no small commotion among the soldiers. Where was Peter?
• 1:09:21
  Speaker 1: How had he escaped? The chains were still there, lying
• 1:09:25
  Speaker 1: on the floor, The guards had been at their posts,
• 1:09:29
  Speaker 1: the gates had been locked. It was impossible, but he
• 1:09:33
  Speaker 1: was gone. Herod ordered a thorough search, but Peter could
• 1:09:36
  Speaker 1: not be found. Then Herod cross examined the guards and
• 1:09:40
  Speaker 1: ordered that they be executed. The penalty for losing a
• 1:09:44
  Speaker 1: prisoner was death. It was a tragic injustice, but it
• 1:09:49
  Speaker 1: also revealed something profound. The power of God cannot be
• 1:09:53
  Speaker 1: contained by human authority. What Heaven opens, no one can shut.
• 1:09:58
  Speaker 1: What Heaven sets free, no one can bind. The story
• 1:10:02
  Speaker 1: of Peter's escape is a beautiful picture of prayer and
• 1:10:06
  Speaker 1: divine intervention working together. The church prayed earnestly, unceasingly. They
• 1:10:13
  Speaker 1: believed God could act even when circumstances seemed impossible. And
• 1:10:18
  Speaker 1: God answered not with a loud voice, not with thunder,
• 1:10:22
  Speaker 1: but with a single angel walking into a heavily guarded prison,
• 1:10:26
  Speaker 1: as if the walls didn't exist. The angel didn't fight
• 1:10:30
  Speaker 1: the guards, he didn't break down the gates. He simply
• 1:10:34
  Speaker 1: spoke and the chains fell. He walked and the doors opened.
• 1:10:40
  Speaker 1: That's the ministry of angels, quiet, powerful, unstoppable. Peter didn't
• 1:10:47
  Speaker 1: earn his rescue. He didn't bargain for it. He simply slept,
• 1:10:52
  Speaker 1: trusting that God was in control. And while he slept,
• 1:10:55
  Speaker 1: the church prayed, and while they prayed, Heaven moved. There's
• 1:11:00
  Speaker 1: a beautiful irony in this story. The church was praying
• 1:11:04
  Speaker 1: for Peter to be freed, but when he actually showed
• 1:11:08
  Speaker 1: up at their door, they didn't believe it. You're out
• 1:11:11
  Speaker 1: of your mind, they said to Rhoda. It must be
• 1:11:15
  Speaker 1: his angel. They had faith enough to pray, but not
• 1:11:19
  Speaker 1: quite enough to expect an answer. How often do we
• 1:11:22
  Speaker 1: do the same. We pray earnestly, we cry out to God,
• 1:11:27
  Speaker 1: we believe he can act, but when he actually does,
• 1:11:30
  Speaker 1: we're shocked. We've forgotten that the same God who shut
• 1:11:34
  Speaker 1: the mouths of lions, who walked with men in the fire,
• 1:11:37
  Speaker 1: who sent his angel to announce the birth of the Messiah,
• 1:11:41
  Speaker 1: is still at work to day. His angels are still moving,
• 1:11:45
  Speaker 1: still opening doors, still breaking chains. Sometimes the answer to
• 1:11:50
  Speaker 1: your prayer is walking up to the door right now, knocking,
• 1:11:54
  Speaker 1: waiting for you to believe enough to open it. Let
• 1:11:57
  Speaker 1: your shoulders relax. Heard, your prayers are rising, even now,
• 1:12:04
  Speaker 1: carried by angels to the throne of Heaven. And Heaven
• 1:12:07
  Speaker 1: is moving even when you cannot yet see it. Chapter ten,
• 1:12:14
  Speaker 1: The angels at the empty tomb. He is not here.
• 1:12:19
  Speaker 1: The Sabbath was over, Darkness still covered the earth, but
• 1:12:22
  Speaker 1: the first hints of dawn were beginning to touch the
• 1:12:25
  Speaker 1: eastern sky. Three women walked through the quiet streets of Jerusalem,
• 1:12:30
  Speaker 1: their footsteps soft, their hearts heavy with grief. They carried
• 1:12:34
  Speaker 1: spices and perfumes, prepared according to Jewish custom. Their purpose
• 1:12:39
  Speaker 1: was simple and sorrowful, to anoint the body of Jesus.
• 1:12:43
  Speaker 1: It had been three days since they watched him die,
• 1:12:46
  Speaker 1: three days since they heard him cry out from the cross,
• 1:12:50
  Speaker 1: three days since Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had taken
• 1:12:54
  Speaker 1: his body down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it
• 1:12:58
  Speaker 1: in a new tomb carved from rock. The women were
• 1:13:01
  Speaker 1: Mary Magdalen, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. They
• 1:13:05
  Speaker 1: had followed Jesus throughout his ministry. They had listened to
• 1:13:09
  Speaker 1: his teaching, they had witnessed his miracles, and they had
• 1:13:13
  Speaker 1: stood at the foot of the cross when most of
• 1:13:15
  Speaker 1: the disciples had fled. Now they were going to do
• 1:13:19
  Speaker 1: the last thing they could for him, to honor his body,
• 1:13:23
  Speaker 1: to say good bye. As they walked, they talked among themselves,
• 1:13:28
  Speaker 1: who will roll the stone away from the entrance of
• 1:13:30
  Speaker 1: the tomb. It was a practical concern. The stone was massive,
• 1:13:35
  Speaker 1: too heavy for them to move alone. But when they
• 1:13:38
  Speaker 1: arrived at the Garden tomb. They stopped in shock. The
• 1:13:42
  Speaker 1: stone had already been rolled away, not just moved aside,
• 1:13:47
  Speaker 1: rolled completely back, as if it weighed nothing at all.
• 1:13:51
  Speaker 1: The entrance to the tomb stood open, dark and silent.
• 1:13:56
  Speaker 1: Mary Magdalen's heart raced. Her first thought was great robbers,
• 1:14:01
  Speaker 1: someone had taken the body. She turned and ran back
• 1:14:04
  Speaker 1: toward the city to find Peter and John, but the
• 1:14:07
  Speaker 1: other women stepped closer to the tomb. They hesitated at
• 1:14:11
  Speaker 1: the entrance, then bent down and looked inside, and what
• 1:14:15
  Speaker 1: they saw made them freeze. The tomb was empty. The
• 1:14:19
  Speaker 1: burial cloths lay there neatly folded, but the body of
• 1:14:23
  Speaker 1: Jesus was gone. Then suddenly, the interior of the tomb
• 1:14:28
  Speaker 1: blazed with light. Two figures appeared, dressed in clothes that
• 1:14:33
  Speaker 1: gleamed like lightning. Their presence filled the small space with
• 1:14:37
  Speaker 1: a radiance that was almost unbearable. The women fell to
• 1:14:40
  Speaker 1: the ground, their faces pressed to the earth, trembling with fear.
• 1:14:45
  Speaker 1: One of the angels spoke. His voice was gentle, but
• 1:14:49
  Speaker 1: carried the authority of Heaven itself. Why do you look
• 1:14:52
  Speaker 1: for the living among the dead? The living, not the dead?
• 1:14:57
  Speaker 1: The living? The angel continued, and every word rewrote the story.
• 1:15:01
  Speaker 1: They thought they knew he is not here. He has risen.
• 1:15:05
  Speaker 1: Remember how he told you while he was still with
• 1:15:08
  Speaker 1: you in Galilee, the son of Man must be delivered
• 1:15:11
  Speaker 1: over to the hands of sinners, be crucified, and on
• 1:15:14
  Speaker 1: the third day be raised again. The women's minds raced.
• 1:15:18
  Speaker 1: He told us, he said this would happen. We heard him,
• 1:15:22
  Speaker 1: but we didn't understand. We didn't believe it could be true.
• 1:15:27
  Speaker 1: And now the angels were telling them it was true,
• 1:15:30
  Speaker 1: all of it. He had risen, just as he said.
• 1:15:34
  Speaker 1: The angel gestured to the empty burial cloths. Come see
• 1:15:39
  Speaker 1: the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell
• 1:15:42
  Speaker 1: his disciples. He has risen from the dead and is
• 1:15:46
  Speaker 1: going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.
• 1:15:50
  Speaker 1: The women scrambled to their feet. Fear and joy collided
• 1:15:54
  Speaker 1: inside them. They didn't fully understand what was happening, but
• 1:15:58
  Speaker 1: they knew it was something beyond anything they had ever experienced.
• 1:16:02
  Speaker 1: They ran from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, their hearts pounding. Meanwhile,
• 1:16:08
  Speaker 1: Mary Magdalene had reached Peter and John. They have taken
• 1:16:12
  Speaker 1: the Lord out of the tomb. She said, breathless, and
• 1:16:16
  Speaker 1: we don't know where they have put him. Peter and
• 1:16:18
  Speaker 1: John took off running. John younger and faster, reached the tomb. First,
• 1:16:24
  Speaker 1: he bent down and looked in, saw the strips of
• 1:16:27
  Speaker 1: linen lying there, but didn't go inside. Then Peter arrived,
• 1:16:31
  Speaker 1: panting and went straight into the tomb. He saw the
• 1:16:35
  Speaker 1: linen cloths lying there, and the cloth that had been
• 1:16:38
  Speaker 1: wrapped around Jesus's head folded up by itself, separate from
• 1:16:43
  Speaker 1: the other cloths. It wasn't the scene of a robbery.
• 1:16:47
  Speaker 1: Thieves would have taken the body cloths and all. This
• 1:16:51
  Speaker 1: was something else, something deliberate. Orderly. John stepped inside and saw,
• 1:16:57
  Speaker 1: and the scripture says he saw and believed, but they
• 1:17:02
  Speaker 1: still didn't fully understand. They went back home, confused and wondering.
• 1:17:07
  Speaker 1: Mary Magdalen, however, stayed at the tomb. She stood outside weeping.
• 1:17:13
  Speaker 1: Her lord was dead and now even his body was gone.
• 1:17:18
  Speaker 1: She bent down to look into the tomb one more time,
• 1:17:22
  Speaker 1: and there where the body of Jesus had lain were
• 1:17:25
  Speaker 1: two angels in white. They were seated, one at the
• 1:17:29
  Speaker 1: head and one at the foot of where Jesus had been. Woman,
• 1:17:33
  Speaker 1: why are you crying. They asked her, they have taken
• 1:17:37
  Speaker 1: my lord away, She said, tears streaming down her face,
• 1:17:41
  Speaker 1: and I don't know where they have put him. Then
• 1:17:43
  Speaker 1: she turned round and saw some one standing there. She
• 1:17:46
  Speaker 1: thought it was the gardener. Her eyes were so blurred
• 1:17:50
  Speaker 1: with tears that she didn't recognize him. Woman, why are
• 1:17:53
  Speaker 1: you crying, he asked, who is it you are looking for.
• 1:17:58
  Speaker 1: She wiped her eyes. Sir, if you have carried him away,
• 1:18:03
  Speaker 1: tell me where you have put him, and I will
• 1:18:05
  Speaker 1: get him. Then he spoke one word, just one. Mary,
• 1:18:11
  Speaker 1: her name, spoken in the voice she knew better than
• 1:18:15
  Speaker 1: any other, the voice that had cast seven demons out
• 1:18:18
  Speaker 1: of her, the voice that had taught her the Kingdom
• 1:18:21
  Speaker 1: of God, the voice she thought she would never hear again.
• 1:18:25
  Speaker 1: She spun around Rabboni, she cried, teach her. It was him,
• 1:18:32
  Speaker 1: Jesus alive, standing before her in the morning light. He
• 1:18:37
  Speaker 1: smiled gently. Do not hold on to me, he said,
• 1:18:41
  Speaker 1: for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go
• 1:18:44
  Speaker 1: instead to my brothers and tell them I am ascending
• 1:18:47
  Speaker 1: to my father and your father, to my God and
• 1:18:50
  Speaker 1: your God. Mary ran faster than she had ever run
• 1:18:54
  Speaker 1: in her life. She burst into the room, where the
• 1:18:57
  Speaker 1: disciples were hiding, her face glowing, her voice breathless. I
• 1:19:02
  Speaker 1: have seen the Lord, she shouted, and she told them
• 1:19:05
  Speaker 1: everything he had said. The angels at the empty tomb
• 1:19:09
  Speaker 1: were not there by accident. They were Heaven's heralds, announcing
• 1:19:13
  Speaker 1: the most important event in all of human history, the resurrection.
• 1:19:18
  Speaker 1: Death had been defeated, the grave had been conquered, the
• 1:19:22
  Speaker 1: power of sin had been broken, and the one who
• 1:19:25
  Speaker 1: had died on a Roman cross was alive again. The
• 1:19:29
  Speaker 1: angels didn't raise Jesus from the dead. God the Father
• 1:19:33
  Speaker 1: did that, but the angels were the first to proclaim it.
• 1:19:37
  Speaker 1: They were the ones who said he is not here,
• 1:19:41
  Speaker 1: he has risen, and in doing so they fulfilled the
• 1:19:45
  Speaker 1: same role angels have always played. They were messengers, carriers
• 1:19:50
  Speaker 1: of good news, bridges between heaven and Earth. Think about
• 1:19:56
  Speaker 1: the placement of the angels in the tomb, one at
• 1:19:59
  Speaker 1: the head, one at the foot where the body of
• 1:20:01
  Speaker 1: Jesus had lain. It's an image that echoes something from
• 1:20:05
  Speaker 1: the Old Testament. In the tabernacle and later in the temple,
• 1:20:09
  Speaker 1: the ark of the Covenant was covered by the mercy seat,
• 1:20:13
  Speaker 1: and on that mercy seat were two Cherubim one at
• 1:20:16
  Speaker 1: each end, their wings overshadowing the place where the blood
• 1:20:19
  Speaker 1: of Atonement was sprinkled. It was the holiest place in
• 1:20:23
  Speaker 1: all of Israel, the place where heaven and earth met,
• 1:20:27
  Speaker 1: the place where God's presence dwelt. And now in the
• 1:20:31
  Speaker 1: empty tomb, two angels sat in the same position, one
• 1:20:35
  Speaker 1: at the head, one at the foot, marking the place
• 1:20:38
  Speaker 1: where the true atonement had been made, where the Lamb
• 1:20:42
  Speaker 1: of God had laid down his life for the sins
• 1:20:44
  Speaker 1: of the world. The Old Covenant pointed forward to this moment,
• 1:20:49
  Speaker 1: and the angels bore witness to its fulfillment. The message
• 1:20:53
  Speaker 1: of the resurrection is the heartbeat of the Christian faith.
• 1:20:56
  Speaker 1: Without it, there is no hope. Without it, Jesus is
• 1:21:00
  Speaker 1: just another teacher who died and stayed dead. But with
• 1:21:04
  Speaker 1: it everything changes. The Apostle Paul would later write, if
• 1:21:09
  Speaker 1: Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and
• 1:21:12
  Speaker 1: so is your faith. But Christ has indeed been raised
• 1:21:16
  Speaker 1: from the dead, the first fruits of those who have
• 1:21:18
  Speaker 1: fallen asleep. The resurrection means that death is not the end.
• 1:21:23
  Speaker 1: It means that the grave does not have the final word.
• 1:21:26
  Speaker 1: It means that every promise Jesus made is true, and
• 1:21:30
  Speaker 1: the angels were there to declare it. To women, to
• 1:21:34
  Speaker 1: the frightened, to those who had lost hope. He is
• 1:21:38
  Speaker 1: not here, He has risen. The tomb is empty, and
• 1:21:43
  Speaker 1: because it is, every dark place in your life can
• 1:21:46
  Speaker 1: be filled with light. Every ending can become a beginning,
• 1:21:50
  Speaker 1: every loss can turn into hope. Breathe deeply. The same
• 1:21:55
  Speaker 1: power that raised Jesus watches over you now. The grave
• 1:22:00
  Speaker 1: could not hold him, and nothing in your life is
• 1:22:03
  Speaker 1: beyond his power to redeem. Chapter eleven, Hebrews thirteen two
• 1:22:11
  Speaker 1: Entertaining Angels Unaware. There's a verse in the New Testament
• 1:22:15
  Speaker 1: that has shaped the way believers treat strangers for nearly
• 1:22:18
  Speaker 1: two thousand years. It's tucked into the final chapter of
• 1:22:21
  Speaker 1: the Book of Hebrews, a letter written to Jewish Christians
• 1:22:25
  Speaker 1: facing persecution and doubt. Among instructions about love, hospitality, and
• 1:22:30
  Speaker 1: faithful living, the writer says this, do not forget to
• 1:22:34
  Speaker 1: show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing, some people
• 1:22:38
  Speaker 1: have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. It's a
• 1:22:41
  Speaker 1: simple sentence, but it carries a profound truth. Angels walk
• 1:22:47
  Speaker 1: among us, and sometimes the person standing before you needing
• 1:22:52
  Speaker 1: help is more than they appear to be. The writer
• 1:22:55
  Speaker 1: of Hebrews is pointing back to the stories we've already heard.
• 1:22:59
  Speaker 1: Abrah who welcomed three strangers and discovered they were messengers
• 1:23:04
  Speaker 1: from God, Lot who invited two travelers into his home
• 1:23:08
  Speaker 1: and was saved from destruction, Gideon Manoah, and so many
• 1:23:13
  Speaker 1: others who encountered angels disguised as ordinary men. But the
• 1:23:17
  Speaker 1: principle doesn't end with the Old Testament. It continues throughout history.
• 1:23:23
  Speaker 1: Throughout the world. There are countless testimonies of people who
• 1:23:27
  Speaker 1: showed kindness to a stranger, only to realize later that
• 1:23:31
  Speaker 1: something extraordinary had happened. The stranger disappeared without explanation. The
• 1:23:36
  Speaker 1: help they offered was returned in miraculous ways. The words
• 1:23:40
  Speaker 1: spoken were too timely, too specific to be mere coincidence.
• 1:23:45
  Speaker 1: One story comes from a cold winter night in the
• 1:23:48
  Speaker 1: northern United States. A family was driving home through a
• 1:23:52
  Speaker 1: snow storm when their car slid off the road and
• 1:23:55
  Speaker 1: into a ditch. The father tried to get the car out,
• 1:23:58
  Speaker 1: but the wheels only spun uselessly in the snow. They
• 1:24:02
  Speaker 1: were miles from the nearest town, the temperature was dropping,
• 1:24:06
  Speaker 1: the children were shivering in the back seat. The father
• 1:24:09
  Speaker 1: stood by the car, praying, Lord, we need help. Within minutes,
• 1:24:15
  Speaker 1: headlights appeared through the snow. An old pickup truck pulled
• 1:24:19
  Speaker 1: up beside them. A man stepped out, bundled in a
• 1:24:22
  Speaker 1: heavy coat, his face calm and kind. Looks like you
• 1:24:26
  Speaker 1: could use a hand, he said. He attached a chain
• 1:24:30
  Speaker 1: to their car and pulled them out of the ditch
• 1:24:32
  Speaker 1: with ease. The father thanked him, offered him money, asked
• 1:24:36
  Speaker 1: for his name, but the man just smiled and said,
• 1:24:40
  Speaker 1: no need, just help someone else when you get the chance.
• 1:24:44
  Speaker 1: He got back in his truck and drove away. The
• 1:24:47
  Speaker 1: father tried to follow him to at least get his name,
• 1:24:51
  Speaker 1: but when he rounded the bend, the truck was gone.
• 1:24:54
  Speaker 1: There were no side roads, no driveways, just empty highways
• 1:24:59
  Speaker 1: stretch into the storm and in the snow. There were
• 1:25:03
  Speaker 1: no tire tracks but their own. Another account comes from
• 1:25:07
  Speaker 1: a hospital room. A young mother sat beside her infant son,
• 1:25:11
  Speaker 1: who was burning with fever. The doctors had tried everything,
• 1:25:15
  Speaker 1: but his condition was worsening. She prayed through the night,
• 1:25:19
  Speaker 1: tears falling on to the blanket that covered him. Around
• 1:25:22
  Speaker 1: three in the morning, a nurse she had never seen
• 1:25:25
  Speaker 1: before came into the room. The woman wore white, but
• 1:25:29
  Speaker 1: there was something different about her. Her presence brought a
• 1:25:33
  Speaker 1: deep calm into the room. He's going to be all right,
• 1:25:37
  Speaker 1: she said softly. She placed her hand on the child's forehead,
• 1:25:41
  Speaker 1: and the mother felt warmth spread through the room. Keep
• 1:25:44
  Speaker 1: praying God has heard you. Then she turned and left.
• 1:25:49
  Speaker 1: When morning came, the fever had broken, the child was
• 1:25:53
  Speaker 1: sleeping peacefully, his breathing steady and strong. The mother asked
• 1:25:58
  Speaker 1: the day nurse about the woman who had visited during
• 1:26:01
  Speaker 1: the night. No one came in, the nurse said, checking
• 1:26:05
  Speaker 1: the records, I was at the station all night. I
• 1:26:08
  Speaker 1: would have seen her. But the mother knew someone had
• 1:26:12
  Speaker 1: come and her son had been healed. Whether these encounters
• 1:26:16
  Speaker 1: were with angels or divine providence working through compassionate people,
• 1:26:21
  Speaker 1: we may never know for certain, but this we know.
• 1:26:24
  Speaker 1: Heaven hears our cries, and Heaven responds, sometimes with wings unseen,
• 1:26:30
  Speaker 1: sometimes through human hands. Either way, it is the same
• 1:26:35
  Speaker 1: God at work. These testimonies point to a truth the
• 1:26:38
  Speaker 1: Bible affirms but doesn't always explain in detail. God continues
• 1:26:43
  Speaker 1: to send help in ways that surprise us, and the
• 1:26:47
  Speaker 1: line between the natural and the supernatural is thinner than
• 1:26:50
  Speaker 1: we think. But here's the mystery. We rarely know when
• 1:26:54
  Speaker 1: we're in the presence of an angel. That's the whole
• 1:26:57
  Speaker 1: point of Hebrews thirteen two. Without knowing it. Angels don't
• 1:27:02
  Speaker 1: usually announce themselves. They don't arrive in blazing light with
• 1:27:06
  Speaker 1: trumpets and wings. Most of the time, they look like us,
• 1:27:10
  Speaker 1: they speak like us, They walk among us unnoticed. And
• 1:27:15
  Speaker 1: that's by design, because if we knew for certain that
• 1:27:18
  Speaker 1: some one was an angel, we would treat them with
• 1:27:21
  Speaker 1: honor and reverence. But God wants us to treat every
• 1:27:24
  Speaker 1: one with honor and reverence, not because they might be angels,
• 1:27:28
  Speaker 1: but because they are made in His image. The beggar
• 1:27:32
  Speaker 1: on the street, the refugee at the border, the stranger
• 1:27:36
  Speaker 1: asking for directions, the person sitting alone in the hospital
• 1:27:40
  Speaker 1: waiting room. Any of them could be an angel, but
• 1:27:44
  Speaker 1: all of them are people loved by God. Jesus himself
• 1:27:47
  Speaker 1: taught this in Matthew twenty five. He said, whatever you
• 1:27:51
  Speaker 1: did for one of the least of these brothers and
• 1:27:54
  Speaker 1: sisters of mine, you did for me. When you give
• 1:27:57
  Speaker 1: food to the hungry, you're feeding Christ. When you welcome
• 1:28:01
  Speaker 1: the stranger, you're welcoming Christ. When you visit the prisoner,
• 1:28:06
  Speaker 1: you're visiting Christ. And when you show hospitality to a stranger,
• 1:28:10
  Speaker 1: you might be entertaining an angel without knowing it. This
• 1:28:14
  Speaker 1: teaching transforms how we live. It means that every encounter matters.
• 1:28:20
  Speaker 1: Every act of kindness is seen, every cup of cold
• 1:28:23
  Speaker 1: water given in Jesus's name is recorded in heaven. You
• 1:28:27
  Speaker 1: never know who is watching. You never know what small
• 1:28:31
  Speaker 1: act of mercy might be the one that changes someone's
• 1:28:34
  Speaker 1: life or reveals the presence of Heaven in a broken world.
• 1:28:38
  Speaker 1: But there's also wisdom here. We are to show hospitality, yes,
• 1:28:44
  Speaker 1: but we are also to be wise. The Bible says
• 1:28:47
  Speaker 1: to test the spirits to be shrewd as serpents and
• 1:28:51
  Speaker 1: innocent as doves. Not every stranger is an angel, and
• 1:28:55
  Speaker 1: not every visitor is sent from God. Discernment is a
• 1:28:59
  Speaker 1: gift of the Holy Spirit, and we are called to
• 1:29:01
  Speaker 1: use it. But when we sense a nudge from the
• 1:29:04
  Speaker 1: Lord to help to give to open our home or
• 1:29:08
  Speaker 1: our heart, we should listen, because Heaven may be orchestrating
• 1:29:12
  Speaker 1: something we can't yet see. The story of Abraham shows
• 1:29:15
  Speaker 1: us that hospitality is worship. He didn't know who his
• 1:29:19
  Speaker 1: visitors were when he ran to greet them. He simply
• 1:29:22
  Speaker 1: saw travelers in need and responded with generosity, and because
• 1:29:27
  Speaker 1: of that he encountered God himself. Lot did the same
• 1:29:31
  Speaker 1: in Sodom. He didn't know the men at the gate
• 1:29:34
  Speaker 1: were angels. He just knew they needed shelter, and his
• 1:29:38
  Speaker 1: act of hospitality saved his life. Throughout scripture, the pattern
• 1:29:43
  Speaker 1: is the same. God sends his messengers in disguise, and
• 1:29:47
  Speaker 1: those who welcome them receive blessing, but those who turn
• 1:29:50
  Speaker 1: them away miss the opportunity of a lifetime. Whether we're
• 1:29:55
  Speaker 1: entertaining angels or simply serving those made in God's image,
• 1:29:59
  Speaker 1: the call the same. Live with open hands and an
• 1:30:03
  Speaker 1: open heart, see every person as worthy of kindness. Practice
• 1:30:08
  Speaker 1: hospitality not out of obligation, but out of love. Because
• 1:30:12
  Speaker 1: when we do, we align ourselves with the heart of God.
• 1:30:16
  Speaker 1: We become co laborers with the angels. We participate in
• 1:30:21
  Speaker 1: the ministry of Heaven on earth. And who knows, maybe
• 1:30:25
  Speaker 1: the next time you show kindness to a stranger, you'll
• 1:30:28
  Speaker 1: be entertaining angels without knowing it. Every act of love
• 1:30:32
  Speaker 1: echoes in eternity, and Heaven is watching, even when we
• 1:30:36
  Speaker 1: can't see the watchers. Let your hands rest gently at
• 1:30:40
  Speaker 1: your sides. You are seen, you are known, and every
• 1:30:45
  Speaker 1: small kindness you offer is remembered in Heaven Chapter twelve.
• 1:30:51
  Speaker 1: The ministry continues angels among us still. We've journeyed together
• 1:30:57
  Speaker 1: through thousands of years of history, from the desert tents
• 1:31:01
  Speaker 1: of Abraham to the empty tomb of Jesus, from fiery
• 1:31:04
  Speaker 1: furnaces to prison cells, from quiet rooms in Nazareth to
• 1:31:08
  Speaker 1: gardens at dawn, and through it all, one truth has
• 1:31:12
  Speaker 1: remained constant. Heaven serves humanity through messengers we rarely see.
• 1:31:18
  Speaker 1: Angels are not distant, They are not decorative. They are
• 1:31:22
  Speaker 1: not symbols or metaphors. They are real, active and present,
• 1:31:28
  Speaker 1: sent by God to protect, guide, comfort, and proclaim. The
• 1:31:34
  Speaker 1: writer of Hebrews asks the question, are not all angels
• 1:31:38
  Speaker 1: ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
• 1:31:41
  Speaker 1: The answer is yes. That is their assignment, That is
• 1:31:46
  Speaker 1: their calling to minister to us, to serve us, not
• 1:31:50
  Speaker 1: because we deserve it, but because God loves us. And
• 1:31:54
  Speaker 1: that ministry did not end with the closing of the
• 1:31:57
  Speaker 1: Biblical canon. It continue today. Every time you sense a
• 1:32:02
  Speaker 1: presence in the room when you're praying alone. It might
• 1:32:05
  Speaker 1: be an angel standing near. Every time a thought comes
• 1:32:08
  Speaker 1: to you out of nowhere, turn left instead of right,
• 1:32:11
  Speaker 1: call that person, don't get on that plane. It might
• 1:32:14
  Speaker 1: be angelic guidance every time you escape danger by a
• 1:32:18
  Speaker 1: split second, every time you feel an unexplainable piece in
• 1:32:22
  Speaker 1: the middle of chaos, every time help arrives at exactly
• 1:32:25
  Speaker 1: the right moment. Heaven may be at work. But let's
• 1:32:28
  Speaker 1: be clear. Angels are servants. They are not to be worshiped.
• 1:32:33
  Speaker 1: They are not to be prayed to. They are not
• 1:32:36
  Speaker 1: mediators between us and God. That role belongs to Jesus alone.
• 1:32:42
  Speaker 1: The apostle Paul warned against angel worship in his letter
• 1:32:45
  Speaker 1: to the Colossians. Do not let anyone who delights in
• 1:32:49
  Speaker 1: false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Angels
• 1:32:53
  Speaker 1: themselves reject worship. When the apostle John fell at the
• 1:32:57
  Speaker 1: feet of an angel in the Book of Revelation, the
• 1:32:59
  Speaker 1: angel said, don't do that. I am a fellow servant
• 1:33:03
  Speaker 1: with you and with your brothers. The prophets worship God.
• 1:33:08
  Speaker 1: Angels serve God, and in serving him they serve us.
• 1:33:13
  Speaker 1: But all glory, all honor. All worship belongs to God alone.
• 1:33:18
  Speaker 1: So how do we relate to angels? How do we
• 1:33:21
  Speaker 1: live in light of their presence? First, we acknowledge them.
• 1:33:26
  Speaker 1: We recognize that the spiritual realm is real, that we
• 1:33:30
  Speaker 1: are not alone, that Heaven is closer than we think.
• 1:33:34
  Speaker 1: The Bible says in Second Kings, chapter six that when
• 1:33:37
  Speaker 1: Elisha's servants saw the enemy army surrounding them, he panicked.
• 1:33:42
  Speaker 1: But Elisha prayed open his Eye's Lord, so that he
• 1:33:46
  Speaker 1: may see. And God opened the servant's eyes, and he
• 1:33:50
  Speaker 1: saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire
• 1:33:53
  Speaker 1: all around Elisha. The angelic army invisible to human sight,
• 1:33:58
  Speaker 1: but present and powerful. We live in that same reality.
• 1:34:03
  Speaker 1: We may not see them, but they are there. Second,
• 1:34:07
  Speaker 1: we trust God's protection. Psalm ninety one says he will
• 1:34:11
  Speaker 1: command his angels concerning you to guard you in all
• 1:34:14
  Speaker 1: your ways. They will lift you up in their hands
• 1:34:17
  Speaker 1: so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
• 1:34:21
  Speaker 1: This doesn't mean will never face hardship. It means we
• 1:34:24
  Speaker 1: are never alone in it. Angels are assigned to watch
• 1:34:28
  Speaker 1: over those who belong to God. Third, we pray not
• 1:34:32
  Speaker 1: to angels, but to God. And when we pray, angels
• 1:34:37
  Speaker 1: carry those prayers to the throne of Heaven. Revelation chapter
• 1:34:41
  Speaker 1: eight describes angels offering the prayers of the saints before God,
• 1:34:45
  Speaker 1: mingled with incense. Your prayers are heard, they are carried upward,
• 1:34:50
  Speaker 1: and Heaven responds. Forth we live with open hands. We
• 1:34:55
  Speaker 1: show hospitality. We help the stranger with kindness, knowing that
• 1:35:02
  Speaker 1: we might be entertaining angels without realizing it. And even
• 1:35:06
  Speaker 1: if we're not, we're still reflecting the heart of God. Finally,
• 1:35:11
  Speaker 1: we remember that angels are not the main story. Jesus
• 1:35:15
  Speaker 1: is Angels announced his birth, Angels ministered to him after
• 1:35:20
  Speaker 1: his temptation in the wilderness. Angels strengthened him in the
• 1:35:24
  Speaker 1: garden of Gethsemone. Angels rolled away the stone from his tomb.
• 1:35:29
  Speaker 1: And angels will accompany him when he returns. But they
• 1:35:33
  Speaker 1: do not replace him. They serve him, and they point
• 1:35:37
  Speaker 1: us to him. In the end, the ministry of angels
• 1:35:40
  Speaker 1: is a beautiful reminder that God has not left us
• 1:35:43
  Speaker 1: to navigate this world alone. He has stationed help us
• 1:35:47
  Speaker 1: all around us, invisible but active, silent but strong. And
• 1:35:54
  Speaker 1: one day the veil will be lifted. One day we
• 1:35:58
  Speaker 1: will see them as they truly are. We will stand
• 1:36:01
  Speaker 1: in the presence of the heavenly hosts, and we will
• 1:36:04
  Speaker 1: understand how many times they intervened on our behalf, how
• 1:36:08
  Speaker 1: many dangers they steered us away from, how many prayers
• 1:36:12
  Speaker 1: they carried, how many battles they fought in the unseen
• 1:36:15
  Speaker 1: realm until that day. We walk by faith, not by sight.
• 1:36:21
  Speaker 1: But we walk with confidence because we are not alone.
• 1:36:25
  Speaker 1: The same angels who stood with Abraham, who freed Peter,
• 1:36:29
  Speaker 1: who announced the resurrection, are still at work. They are
• 1:36:33
  Speaker 1: guarding you to night. They are watching over your sleep.
• 1:36:36
  Speaker 1: They are standing between you and every force of darkness
• 1:36:40
  Speaker 1: that would seek to harm you. And when the morning comes,
• 1:36:44
  Speaker 1: they will still be there, faithful, tireless, obedient to the
• 1:36:49
  Speaker 1: God who loves you more than you can comprehend. So
• 1:36:52
  Speaker 1: rest now, beloved, close your eyes, let every worry fall away.
• 1:36:58
  Speaker 1: The same God who sent angels to Abraham still watches
• 1:37:01
  Speaker 1: over you. The same power that freed Peter from prison
• 1:37:05
  Speaker 1: is guarding your heart to night. The same voice that
• 1:37:08
  Speaker 1: said he is risen whispers over you. Now you are mine.
• 1:37:13
  Speaker 1: Sleep deeply, sleep in the peace that comes from knowing
• 1:37:17
  Speaker 1: Heaven watches over you. The ministry continues, and you are
• 1:37:21
  Speaker 1: never ever alone. May the Lord bless you and keep you.
• 1:37:27
  Speaker 1: May His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
• 1:37:30
  Speaker 1: May he lift up his countenance upon you and give
• 1:37:34
  Speaker 1: you peace. May His angels encamp around you, guarding you
• 1:37:38
  Speaker 1: in all your ways. And may you wake in the
• 1:37:41
  Speaker 1: morning refreshed, renewed, and reminded that Heaven is closer than
• 1:37:45
  Speaker 1: you ever imagined. In the name of the Father, the Son,
• 1:37:50
  Speaker 1: and the Holy Spirit. Amen, good night,