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God's Invisible Army Is Already Here | Larry Ollison · Prophecy Watchers

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  Speaker 1: Lift up the word and repeat after me. I believe
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  Speaker 1: this is the Word of God. I believe what God
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  Speaker 1: says because it is impossible for God to lie. Well,
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  Speaker 1: praise the Lord. God is good and He never lies.
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  Speaker 1: You know, Titus 1-2 tells us that exactly, that it's
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  Speaker 1: impossible for God to lie. Well, today I would really
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  Speaker 1: like to talk to you about something that's kind of
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  Speaker 1: dear to my heart and a And that's to talk
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  Speaker 1: about something that angels do. And many of you have
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  Speaker 1: heard me speak on angels many times. You know, it's interesting.
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  Speaker 1: I think I told you this once before, but we
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  Speaker 1: had some people visiting from out of state and from,
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  Speaker 1: I believe it was Indiana. And then another family was
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  Speaker 1: visiting us a few weeks later from Iowa. And they
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  Speaker 1: both wrote letters to me. And neither one of them
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  Speaker 1: had been at the church before. I did not know
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  Speaker 1: either one of them. And the first letter that came
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  Speaker 1: in said, we kind of feel weird telling you this,
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  Speaker 1: but on your platform we saw an angel standing. And
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  Speaker 1: they told exactly where it was. And they described the
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  Speaker 1: angel in detail. And I'm sure, Pastor, that you get letters,
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  Speaker 1: and sometimes you kind of go, hmm. So I did that.
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  Speaker 1: I just kind of went, hmm. But a few weeks later,
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  Speaker 1: I got another letter from the people in the other state,
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  Speaker 1: and they didn't know each other. Both families were here
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  Speaker 1: on vacation. And they said, you know, we feel weird
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  Speaker 1: about telling you this, but when we were at your church,
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  Speaker 1: we saw an angel on the stage. And then they
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  Speaker 1: told where the angel was and they described it. And
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  Speaker 1: it was like, oh boy, you know what? I'm sitting
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  Speaker 1: at my desk and then you have this thought. I thought, wow,
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  Speaker 1: this is interesting. But the key is to understand this.
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  Speaker 1: There are angels. And they do exist. And just because
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  Speaker 1: you can't see them doesn't mean that they're not behind
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  Speaker 1: the scenes working to do for you what you can't
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  Speaker 1: do for yourself. Hebrews 1.14 tells us that they are
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  Speaker 1: ministering spirits. You know, the verse before, God says, have
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  Speaker 1: I ever said to an angel this or that? And
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  Speaker 1: then He comes back in the Scripture and it says,
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  Speaker 1: are they not all ministering spirits? Sent to minister for
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  Speaker 1: those who will inherit salvation. Are you a person who
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  Speaker 1: has inherited salvation? Are you born again? Are you a
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  Speaker 1: follower of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Well,
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  Speaker 1: the Scripture tells us clearly and many, many other places
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  Speaker 1: that angels are here to minister for you. Now, we
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  Speaker 1: know that they also minister to you, but specifically for
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  Speaker 1: you to do what you can't do. What's one of
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  Speaker 1: the things that you shouldn't do? Well, the Scripture tells
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  Speaker 1: us that you're not supposed to avenge yourself. You're not
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  Speaker 1: supposed to avenge yourself. If somebody does something wrong to you,
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  Speaker 1: you're supposed to turn the other cheek. Well, you know,
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  Speaker 1: it doesn't say which cheek, but the reality is we
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  Speaker 1: are not supposed to get revenge. Revenge. Has anybody ever
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  Speaker 1: done anything to you? Has anybody ever hurt your family?
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  Speaker 1: Has anybody ever spoken something about your life or your
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  Speaker 1: family that's not true? And you're thinking to yourself, I
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  Speaker 1: wish I could just... No, here's the thing. You are
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  Speaker 1: not your avenger. God has on this earth angels sent
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  Speaker 1: to watch over you, and to guard you in all
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  Speaker 1: your ways, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, I like to call these avenging angels. You know,
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  Speaker 1: it's interesting. Several years ago, my son and I went
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  Speaker 1: to a minister's conference, and rarely are conferences here at
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  Speaker 1: the Lake of the Ozarks, but this particular conference was
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  Speaker 1: at the Lake of the Ozarks, and it was at
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  Speaker 1: a A church retreat. And so I had a boat
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  Speaker 1: that I had just named. And this boat was a
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  Speaker 1: loud boat. I mean, it was loud. When you started
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  Speaker 1: it up, you heard it a mile away. And I
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  Speaker 1: had an artist come in and paint on the side
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  Speaker 1: of this boat the avenging angel. Avenging angel. And so
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  Speaker 1: I got Robbie, my son, and I drove it to
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  Speaker 1: the minister's conference that was taking place waterfront. And I
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  Speaker 1: pulled up in front and revved up the engine a
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  Speaker 1: few times. Well, I lost a few friends. But bottom
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  Speaker 1: line is, the angels of God will avenge you. They
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  Speaker 1: will avenge you. Let's take a look at a scripture.
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  Speaker 1: Psalm 91 11. For he shall give his angels charge
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  Speaker 1: over you to keep you in how many of your ways?
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  Speaker 1: In all your ways. Look at verse 12. In their hands,
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  Speaker 1: in the hands of who? In the hands of the angels.
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  Speaker 1: They shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot
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  Speaker 1: against a stone. See, many Christians see angels as strictly messengers,
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  Speaker 1: and they are messengers. You know, it comes from the
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  Speaker 1: Hebrew word moloch and the Greek word angelos, which means messengers,
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  Speaker 1: translated angels many times in the Bible. And people think
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  Speaker 1: of them that way. They think of Gabriel taking the
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  Speaker 1: message as To Mary and various people and Joseph and
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  Speaker 1: a message being brought to Daniel and all of that. However,
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  Speaker 1: they're much more than just messengers. Michael is the only
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  Speaker 1: archangel mentioned in the Bible, but he's a warrior. The
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  Speaker 1: Bible speaks of him with a sword. And so with
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  Speaker 1: this in mind and their deliverers, And they're also agents
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  Speaker 1: of judgment. And that kind of struck me one day.
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  Speaker 1: We think of angels. I mean, go down to the
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  Speaker 1: Hallmark store and look at some of the greeting cards.
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  Speaker 1: And look at the angels. They're fluffy. Got little wings
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  Speaker 1: and all that kind of stuff. Well, let's take a
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  Speaker 1: look at a couple of Bible stories and let's Let's
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  Speaker 1: just walk through the Scriptures and let's see what the
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  Speaker 1: Scriptures has to say about angels. So turn in your
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  Speaker 1: Bibles to Genesis chapter 19 and this is the story
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  Speaker 1: about two angels. Now here's what I want you to understand.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes there's more to the story than what we actually
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  Speaker 1: read and recognize. Remember Paul Harvey? He had a a
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  Speaker 1: television program out there. How many of you remember Paul Harvey? Oh,
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  Speaker 1: lake around, everybody that raised their hands over 60. All right. So,
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  Speaker 1: he always told about the rest of the story. Well,
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  Speaker 1: sometimes in the Bible, we don't read the rest of
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  Speaker 1: the story. We read down to the point where it
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  Speaker 1: makes the point that we are trying to make, and
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  Speaker 1: then we stop. But we're going to look at the
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  Speaker 1: rest of the story. Psalm 19, verse 1. Now the
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  Speaker 1: two angels came to Sodom, which by the way, Sodom
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  Speaker 1: is a bad place. And you ever wonder where the
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  Speaker 1: word Sodomy comes from? It was named after this particular place.
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  Speaker 1: Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening
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  Speaker 1: and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. Now
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  Speaker 1: he had moved there. He wasn't a lifelong resident. He
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  Speaker 1: just moved in. When Lot saw them, he rose to
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  Speaker 1: meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward
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  Speaker 1: the ground. Verse 2. And he said, Here now, my lords,
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  Speaker 1: please turn in to your servant's house and spend the night,
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  Speaker 1: and wash your feet. Okay, so these angels looked like men.
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  Speaker 1: You understand that? They looked like men. They had feet.
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  Speaker 1: So he said, Wash your feet. Then you may rise
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  Speaker 1: early in the morning, early, and go on your way.
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  Speaker 1: So evidently, they were going to lay down and rest. Now,
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  Speaker 1: I've had this brought up. Why in the world would
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  Speaker 1: they need to lay down and rest? Have you ever
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  Speaker 1: stopped to think that on the seventh day, God rested? Now,
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  Speaker 1: He didn't rest because He was tired. He rested because
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  Speaker 1: the work had been completed. Is it possible that since
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  Speaker 1: Earth is a physical image of the spiritual, and you know,
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  Speaker 1: we know that to be true because the scripture says
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  Speaker 1: that Moses was shown all of the utensils in heaven
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  Speaker 1: in the realm of the spirit so that he would
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  Speaker 1: know how to make them in the realm of the physical.
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  Speaker 1: We know that. So is it possible that in the
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  Speaker 1: same way in the realm of the physical that we
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  Speaker 1: need a type of rest, that there is somehow in
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  Speaker 1: the kingdom of God, in the realm of the Spirit,
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  Speaker 1: a type of spiritual rest that even the angels of
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  Speaker 1: God partake of? Well, everybody say it together. Hmm. Is
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  Speaker 1: it possible? All right. And they said, no, but we
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  Speaker 1: will spend the night in the open square. Next verse.
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  Speaker 1: But he insisted strongly. So they turned in to him
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  Speaker 1: and entered his house. Then he made them a feast,
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  Speaker 1: not just a snack. He made them a feast and
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  Speaker 1: baked unleavened bread. And they, who is the they it's
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  Speaker 1: talking about there? The angels. They ate. Now, we know
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  Speaker 1: that the Bible talks about angels' food and, you know,
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  Speaker 1: the manna. What is it that was on the ground?
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  Speaker 1: We know that. But this is physical food. Lot made
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  Speaker 1: physical food and they ate it. Just something to think about.
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  Speaker 1: Verse 4. Now before they lay down, the men of
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  Speaker 1: the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young,
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  Speaker 1: all the people from every quarter surrounded the house. And
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  Speaker 1: they called to Lot and said to him, where are
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  Speaker 1: the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out
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  Speaker 1: so that we may know them carnally. So Lot went
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  Speaker 1: out to them through the doorway and he shut the
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  Speaker 1: door behind him. And he said, please, my brethren, do
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  Speaker 1: not do so wickedly. See now, now here's how much
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  Speaker 1: he honored and knew that these two men, he called
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  Speaker 1: them lords earlier, they were messengers of God. He said,
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  Speaker 1: I have two daughters who have not known a man.
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  Speaker 1: Please let me bring them out to you and you
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  Speaker 1: may do to them as you wish. Only do nothing
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  Speaker 1: to these men since this is the reason they have
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  Speaker 1: come under the shadow of my roof. And they said,
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  Speaker 1: stand back. Then they said, this one came in to
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  Speaker 1: stay here and he keeps acting as a judge. Now
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  Speaker 1: we will deal worse with you than with them. So
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  Speaker 1: they pressed hard against the man lot and came near
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  Speaker 1: to break down the door. Verse 10. But the men,
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  Speaker 1: who's the men? These are the two men that came down.
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  Speaker 1: So the men reached out their hands and pulled lot
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  Speaker 1: into the house with them and shut the door. And
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  Speaker 1: they struck... The men who were at the doorway of
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  Speaker 1: the house with blindness. Okay, do you see that? Who
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  Speaker 1: struck them with blindness? Lot? No, who did it? The
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  Speaker 1: two angels. So what does this tell us? This tells
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  Speaker 1: us that angels have the ability... to take an enemy
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  Speaker 1: coming against the things of God and literally blind them.
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  Speaker 1: And it goes on to say, they struck the men
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  Speaker 1: who were at the doorway of the house with blindness,
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  Speaker 1: both small and great, so that they became weary trying
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  Speaker 1: to find the door. The angels of God can strike
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  Speaker 1: your enemy... So that they will have blindness and confusion
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  Speaker 1: and not be able to find the way to destroy you. Listen,
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  Speaker 1: the same angels that were here at the time of
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  Speaker 1: Lot are still here now. Not different angels, the same angels.
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  Speaker 1: And what are they doing? They are doing the same thing.
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  Speaker 1: They are delivering God's people by way of taking the
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  Speaker 1: vengeance that you're not supposed to take. When evil seems
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  Speaker 1: aggressive and unstoppable in your life, you need to turn
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  Speaker 1: it over to the Lord. And he, the commander of
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  Speaker 1: the angels, will send angels to minister for you to
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  Speaker 1: do what you can't do. You may not be able
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  Speaker 1: to overthrow the enemy in your natural means. And what
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  Speaker 1: type of an enemy are we talking about? It could
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  Speaker 1: be financial. It could be emotional. It could be physical.
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  Speaker 1: There may be something that the doctors have told you
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  Speaker 1: there is no hope. There could be something your financial
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  Speaker 1: advisor has told you there's no way out. But God
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  Speaker 1: will make a way when there seems to be no way.
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  Speaker 1: Let's take a look at another situation. Turn in your
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  Speaker 1: Bibles to 2 Kings 6, verse 8. And I really
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  Speaker 1: like the way this story turns out. Now the king
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  Speaker 1: of Syria was making war against Israel. You know, that's
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  Speaker 1: still going on today. And he consulted with his servants
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  Speaker 1: and says... He brings his servants together and he says,
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  Speaker 1: my camp will be in such and such a place.
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  Speaker 1: And the man of God sent to the king of
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  Speaker 1: Israel saying, and the man of God sent to the
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  Speaker 1: king of Israel saying, beware that you do not pass
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  Speaker 1: this place where the Syrians are coming down here. So
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  Speaker 1: here's what happened. The king of Syria says, I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to send my army over here and they're going to
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  Speaker 1: do something. And so Elisha goes prophetically to the king
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  Speaker 1: of Israel and he says, don't go over there. And
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  Speaker 1: so they diverted disaster because Elisha was giving information to
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  Speaker 1: the king. All right. So next verse. Then the king
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  Speaker 1: of Israel sent someone to the place which the man
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  Speaker 1: of God had told him. Thus he warned them, and
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  Speaker 1: he was watchful there, not just once or twice. Wow.
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  Speaker 1: So what's this mean? This means that this happened over
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  Speaker 1: and over again. Verse 11. Therefore the heart of the
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  Speaker 1: king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing. And
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  Speaker 1: he called his servants and said to them, will you
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  Speaker 1: not show me which one of us is for the
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  Speaker 1: king of Israel? So after a while, this pattern of
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  Speaker 1: the king of Israel always knowing what the king of
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  Speaker 1: Syria was going to do The only thing that the
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  Speaker 1: king of Syria could figure out was, I've got to have,
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  Speaker 1: there must be a spy in here. There's got to
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  Speaker 1: be a mole in my inner circle. Something's not right.
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  Speaker 1: And so he said, he called his people together and
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  Speaker 1: he said, okay, which one of you is working against me?
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  Speaker 1: All right. Next verse. And one of the servants said, none.
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  Speaker 1: He said, none of us. My Lord, O King, but
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  Speaker 1: Elisha the prophet who is in Israel tells the king
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  Speaker 1: of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom. Wow.
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  Speaker 1: So he said, go and see where he is that
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  Speaker 1: I might send and get him. And it was told
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  Speaker 1: him saying, surely he is in Dotham. Therefore, He sent,
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  Speaker 1: the king of Syria, sent horses and chariots and a
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  Speaker 1: great army there, not just an army, but a great
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  Speaker 1: army there and surrounded the city. And when the servant
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  Speaker 1: of the man of God, okay, who's the man of God?
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  Speaker 1: That's Elisha. When the servant of Elisha, the man of God,
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  Speaker 1: arose early and went out, there was the army surrounding
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  Speaker 1: the city with horses and chariots. And the servant said
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  Speaker 1: to him, Alas, master, what shall we do? What are
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  Speaker 1: we going to do? We are surrounded. There's two of us,
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  Speaker 1: and there are literally thousands of horses and chariots surrounding us.
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  Speaker 1: What are we going to do? So he answered, and here's,
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  Speaker 1: Elisha just kept his cool. And he said, do not fear,
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  Speaker 1: for those who are with us are more than those
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  Speaker 1: who are with them. And you all know this story.
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  Speaker 1: And Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray open his
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  Speaker 1: eyes that he may see. Then the Lord opened the
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  Speaker 1: eyes of the young man And he saw, and behold,
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  Speaker 1: the mountain was full of chariots, full of horses and
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  Speaker 1: chariots of fire, all surrounding Elisha. Wow. Powerful. So what happened?
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  Speaker 1: The servant's eyes were opened and he could see that
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  Speaker 1: there were more with them than there was with the army. Now,
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  Speaker 1: did the other army Did the army of God just
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  Speaker 1: show up at that moment? No. They were already there.
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  Speaker 1: They just couldn't be seen. Now here's the thing. We
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  Speaker 1: walk by faith and not by sight. We go by
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  Speaker 1: what God says instead of by what we see. God
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  Speaker 1: says that angels are encamped around you. The angel of
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  Speaker 1: the Lord is encamped around you to protect you. He said... Angels,
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  Speaker 1: in His Word, He says angels are ministering spirits sent
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  Speaker 1: to minister for you. Do you believe that? The reality
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  Speaker 1: is there is an unseen dimension. There's an unseen realm
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  Speaker 1: that is working right now in this room, at your house,
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  Speaker 1: on this earth, in your city to minister for you.
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  Speaker 1: But the sum of the Scriptures teaches us this. You
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  Speaker 1: only receive what you believe. I said you only receive
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  Speaker 1: what you believe. And most Christians don't actually believe that
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  Speaker 1: angels are real. They believe that they are real in
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  Speaker 1: the Bible. They believe the Bible stories. But they don't
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  Speaker 1: really believe that they're here ministering for you on a
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  Speaker 1: daily basis because they have the attitude of, I'll believe
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  Speaker 1: it when I see it. And if you don't see
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  Speaker 1: the angel... See, you'll believe it once it happens, but
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  Speaker 1: you need to believe it before it happens. See, the
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  Speaker 1: world says, I'll believe it when I see it. But
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  Speaker 1: we should say, I'll see it when I believe it.
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  Speaker 1: All right. Now, this is not the end of the story.
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  Speaker 1: Next verse, verse 18. So when the Syrians came down
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  Speaker 1: to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, strike
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  Speaker 1: these people, I pray, with blindness. And he struck them
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  Speaker 1: with blindness according to the word of Elisha. So the
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  Speaker 1: entire Syrian army was struck with blindness. But that's not
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  Speaker 1: the end of the story. Verse 19 says, Now Elisha
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  Speaker 1: said to them, Elisha now is speaking to the head
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  Speaker 1: of the army. He's speaking to the Syrian army. Now
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  Speaker 1: Elisha said, this is not the way, nor this the city.
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  Speaker 1: Follow me and I will bring you to the man
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  Speaker 1: whom you seek. But he led them to Samaria. So
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  Speaker 1: Elisha says, follow me. Now these guys are blind. And
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  Speaker 1: so they're following Elisha because they hear his voice and
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  Speaker 1: he said, I'll take you where you're supposed to go.
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  Speaker 1: But he takes them to Samaria. So it was when
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  Speaker 1: they came down to Samaria that Elisha said, Lord, open
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  Speaker 1: the eyes of these men that they may see. And
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  Speaker 1: the Lord opened their eyes and they saw. And they
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  Speaker 1: were inside Samaria. Now when the king of Israel saw them,
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  Speaker 1: he said to Elisha, My father, what shall I do?
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  Speaker 1: Shall I kill them? Shall I kill them? So here
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  Speaker 1: they were, this entire Syrian army was led back to
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  Speaker 1: Israel to the king of Israel and now they were
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  Speaker 1: surrounded and the king of Israel had the ability with
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  Speaker 1: his army to just kill all of the Syrian soldiers.
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  Speaker 1: But he says to Elijah, what shall I do? But
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  Speaker 1: he answered, what do you think Elijah is going to say?
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  Speaker 1: But he answered, you shall not kill them. Would you
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: and your bow? Here's what let's do. Set food and
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: water before them that they may eat and drink and
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: go to their master. So he answered, Then he prepared
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: a great feast for them. So what did the king
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: of Israel do? The army that came to destroy him
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: and kept showing up unattended trying to capture Israel and
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: the army that went to kill and capture and kill
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: the prophet Elisha, what did he do? He prepared a
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: feast for them. And they ate and they drank. And
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: he sent them away and they went to their master
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: so that the bands of Syrian raiders came no more
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: into the land of Israel. See, here's the whole thing.
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: God knows how to deal with your enemy. I said
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: God knows how to deal with your enemy. And there
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: may be those who have come against you and your
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: only way of thinking out of this is to just
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: go down to the local gun store and buy a
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: Glock you know that may be your answer but God
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: may have a different answer God may blind them for
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: a while but then when they come out of blindness
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: see you need to understand this that Jesus when he
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: died he didn't die just for you you're all cleaned
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: up and sitting in church today and for the last
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: 30 minutes none of you been doing drugs smoking alcohol
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: or getting drunk okay Right? At least for the last
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: maybe hour. But he died for you when you were
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: a sinner. You know the scripture says while we were
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: yet in sin he loved us. He died for us.
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: And as horrible as it sounds to even say this
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: statement because I love the nation of Israel. I love
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: the people. I love The land. I've been to Israel
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: so many times, I don't even know how many times
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: I've been to Israel. But I'll tell you something. Jesus
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: died for Adolf Hitler. The same as he died for you.
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: The difference is, John 3.16, and as Pastor Ryan was
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: talking about earlier, there's conditions. Here's a condition. For God
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: and here's the definition of this. Here's the stipulation. For
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: God so loved the world that He gave His only
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, not everybody, whoever
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. So,
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: Here's the whole thing. I'm not going to judge Adolf Hitler,
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: but I'll tell you this. He is where he is
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: because of the choice he made. And you are where
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: you are because of the choice you made. But the
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: death on the cross and the blood on the altar
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  Speaker 1: was the same for both of you. And God may
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: do two different things to two different people in the
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: same situation. All right. You need to know this. God's
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: protection is invisible. And faith sees what fear cannot see.
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: This is why in almost every situation when an angel
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: shows up and becomes visible in the Scripture, they say
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: fear not. Don't be afraid. Only believe. Okay. Okay. let's
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: take a look at one more illustration. Now this took
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: place in the New Testament. And we all know these
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: illustrations of how Paul and Silas were in prison in
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: Acts chapter 16. They were in prison and at midnight
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: they were singing hymns and they got released. An angel
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: helped them out. We know Peter was in prison. An
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: angel came in and kicked him in the side and said,
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: get up. You know, get yourself ready. And the angel
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: walked him out. But this is a different situation. So
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: just follow me on this. Verse 17. Then the high
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: priest rose up and all those who were with him,
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: which is a sect of the Sadducees. Now the Sadducees
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: and the Pharisees were two religious groups at the time
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: of Jesus. And the difference was the Pharisees believed that
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: there was life after death and the Sadducees did not.
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: And they were filled with indignation. And they laid hands
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: on the apostles. Which apostles? It doesn't say. Laid hands
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: on the apostles and put them in a common prison.
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: What happened then? But at night an angel of the
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said,
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: go stand in the temple and speak to the people
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: all the words of life. So an angel delivered them
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: out of the prison and told them where to go
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: and what to say. And when they heard that, they
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: entered the temple early in the morning and taught. But
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: the high priest and those with him came and called
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: the council together with all the elders of the children
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: of Israel and sent to the prison to have... Okay.
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: So the next morning they're down speaking at the temple
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: doing exactly what God told them to do. But this
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: group got together that basically put them in prison and
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: they sent down word that To get them out of prison.
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: Are you following me? Okay. Verse 22. But the officers
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: did not find them in the prison. And returned and
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: reported saying. Indeed we found the prison shut securely. The
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: guards standing outside before the doors. But when we opened them.
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: We found no one inside. So they went down to
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: retrieve the apostles out of jail. The guards are standing
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: outside the door, guarding them, basically saying they're still inside.
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: They opened the doors and went inside and they weren't there.
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple,
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: and the chief priest heard these things, they wondered what
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: the outcome would be. So one came and told them, saying, Look,
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: the men who you put in prison are standing in
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: the temple and teaching the people. Now, what happened? They
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: were in prison. Guards standing outside the prison. But an
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: angel opened the door, it says, and let them out.
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: So what happened? Were the eyes of the guards filtered
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: in such a way that they're standing guard and they
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: did not even see it happening? Or were they in
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: the prison and translated outside? The only thing is, the
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: Scripture says that that the angel opened the door and
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: they went out. But how could the angel open the
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: door with the guards standing there at the door and
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: the guards still believing their insight? Let me tell you something.
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: God can alter angels. Remember, this angel showed up and
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: is doing all this. Can alter the physics of earth.
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: So that your enemy is so blinded or what they
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: see is so filtered. What can happen? We're finding out
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: here that eyes can be opened, eyes can be closed.
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: There's blindness that can come on. And now we find
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: out that it's what? Partial blindness? Because certainly if the
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: guards had gone blind standing at the door, they would
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: have known they went blind. But they'd They saw something
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: different than what was actually happening. They saw the door
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: closed when the door was opened. I'm telling you, we
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: limit the power of God so much. We limit what
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: our angels can do so much. We are missing miracles
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: in our lives because we don't just submit to saying, look,
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: God is the God of the impossible. The same physics
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: that He created, the same dimensions He created here, who's
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: to say that's all the dimensions there are? There's physics
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: in heaven. I guarantee you there's physics in heaven and
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: in the realm of the Spirit that we don't know about. So,
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: what was the condition here? The angel said, go stand
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: in the temple and speak to the temple all the
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: words of this life. Go to the temple and speak
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: to the people all the words of this life. Go
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: to the temple. Stand in the temple. What had happened before?
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: They were in the temple and they got thrown in prison.
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: The angel sent them right back to the place, sent
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: them back to the place where the Persecution began and
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: told them to do the same thing they were doing
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: that caused the persecution. That takes faith. That takes believing God.
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: When God tells you to do something, do you do it?
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: One last verse, kind of. Daniel 6.22. Remember Daniel in
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: the den of lions? Look what he said. My God
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: sent his angel and shut the lion's mouths. See the
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: word mouths? That means there was more than one lion
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: because I know somebody that works at a zoo and
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: I knew a person who dealt with animals a lot
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: and they explained to me one day how each lion
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: only has one mouth. So when it says mouths, that's
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: not true. But when it says mouths, that means multiple lions.
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: How did the lion's mouths get shut? God sent an angel,
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: his angel, and shut the lion's mouths so that they
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: have not hurt me. So if he can blind eyes,
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: if an angel can blind eyes, We need to know this,
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: the angel can also shut mouths. And if you have
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: a mouth on this earth that's speaking against you, I
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: said if you have a mouth on this earth that
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: is speaking against you, God can shut that mouth. Your
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: angel can shut that mouth. So here's what we need
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: to do. God may send His angel to bind an enemy,
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: confuse an enemy, restrain an enemy, remove the ability of
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: your enemy to harm you, but vengeance belongs to the Lord.
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: And you need to understand that. You are not your avenger.
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: Romans 12, 19 says, Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: rather give place to wrath. For it is written, vengeance
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. So, the
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: moment you've all been waiting for. Conclusion. See that? Okay,
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: well I've got some more notes here. I just wrote
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: down some of these points. Throughout Scripture, if you take
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: the sum of the Scriptures, there's a pattern. In Sodom,
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: angels blinded a violent mob. In Dothan, God opened the
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: blinded eyes of an army. In Jerusalem, a prison door
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: was opened while the authorities who closed the door were
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: completely unaware. Today, I wrote this down because I wanted
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: to say it this way. Today, God still has unlimited
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: power to protect His people. Our confidence should not be
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: an earthly strength but in the heavenly protection that God provides.
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: Remember these two scriptures. 2 Kings 6, 16. Do not fear,
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: for those who are with us are more than those
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: who are with them. How do we say that in
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: our terms? Greater is He who is in you than
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: he who is in the world. And then Hebrews 1,
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: 13 says... But to which of the angels has he
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: ever said, sit at my right hand, till I make
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: your enemies your footstool? Are they, referring back to the angels,
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: for those who will inherit salvation? You will find that
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: this dispensation we're in of 2,000 years, angels operate in
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: a certain way. But after the church is taken out,
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: once the Antichrist tries to set up his kingdom, and
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: once the Lord returns and touches down on the Mount
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: of Olives, there's a different work for the angels during
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: that time. And then there's a different work for the
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: angels during the millennium. But in this dispensation of time,
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: God has sent his angels to guard you, To protect
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: you in all your ways. And to minister for you.
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: But here's the key. We've got to get out of
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: this Sunday school mentality. This Hallmark greeting card mentality. And
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: get into the reality of the spirit realm. And start
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: walking by faith. By what God says. Instead of by sight.
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: And start turning some of this stuff over to Him.
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: Instead of trying to take care of it yourself. Yes,
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: there are things you're supposed to do. And yes, we
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: have commands. And we have a covenant. But don't try
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: to take God's work into your hands. And I'm done.
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: That's it. Let's stand. Let's make this confession. I make
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: this commitment with my voice now. I believe God has
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: angels encamped around me to protect me. I submit to
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: God's power and His Word. Okay, that's it. That's all
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: you've got to do. You submit to His power, His Word,
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: and let God take care of things for you. And
• 41:43
  Speaker 1: if there's something you need to do, He'll tell you
• 41:46
  Speaker 1: what to do and do it. Father, in the name
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: of Jesus, we give you all the glory. We thank you, Father.
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: In the name of your Son, Jesus. Amen.