Angels and Demons - The Reality of Hell
Pastor Robbie continues our Angels and Demons series by addressing the traditional view of Hell as a place of eternal conscious torment for Satan and all those living in rebellion to our Lord and Creator.
This past Sunday we concluded our Angels and Demons series by diving into what Scripture has to say about Hell! This was such a great series, full of information that many of us have never really sat down and addressed before surrounding the ‘spiritual realm’ around us. This upcoming Sunday Pastor Robbie will be addressing Self-Care as we see prescribed in Scripture. If you were not able to make it to our Gathering this past Sunday, know that we missed you and hope to be able to see you this upcoming Sunday!
As Pastor Robbie addressed last Sunday, Heaven is a very real place of perfect communion with God - we also believe that Hell is a very real place that is meant to righteously judge those who have not been forgiven of their sinfulness. He stated, “A recent survey done shows that only 55% of professing Christians believe that Hell is a real place, while 15% are undecided and 30% don’t believe in Hell.” showing that so many believers want to believe in a place of blessing, but want to avoid the idea of judgment for those who live in open rebellion against our Lord and Creator. There are a lot of misconceptions about Hell, and hopefully, we can really dive into what Hell is and is not, in addition to showing how and why our understanding of The Reality of Hell matters.
A common question, that we believe most people ask at some point in their spiritual journey is ‘Why Does Hell Exist’ and the answer to this question informs us on many different fronts theologically and practically. This question brings up God’s holiness and justice as both of them exist in resistance to the presence of rebellion and sinfulness in our world. Hell exists as a means of dealing with injustice against God, - the Lord, and the Creator of our world. Hell is not for ‘bad people’, Hell is for those who live in open rebellion to what God desires for His Image Bearers i.e. those who are NOT forgiven. God’s holiness and perfect justice must be satisfied, this is done through what is and will be eternal judgment for Satan and those who do not accept the saving knowledge of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
First and foremost, Hell was intended specifically for Satan and the angels/demons that fell from heaven with him. In Matthew 25:41, we read ‘Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels…’ The original intention of this place of torment was for Satan who originally rebelled against God, taking 1/3 of heaven’s angels with him; he would go on to influence the Fall of mankind in Genesis 3. Some have got this picture in their mind that Hell is a place where Satan rules and does whatever he wants, and by default unbelievers who stayed in their rebellion to God will just be enjoying themselves through their sinful pleasures. This is not the image that we see in Scripture, Hell is a place of fire and torment - a place that is meant to be eternal punishment for Satan himself.
Hell is also, now meant as a place of equal punishment and torment for those who live in rebellion to God - specifically, those who are not forgiven! 2 Thess. 1:8-9 reads, ‘He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.’ (NIV). In Luke 16:19-30 we see a story about an incredibly rich man who fails to live out the Gospel by ignoring the poor man at his doorstep and the rich man is sent to Hell, while Lazurus is sent to Heaven. In verse 24 we see that the man is in conscious agony wishing for Lazurus to just ‘dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’; here we see that He is suffering and in pain and in torment, which begs the question, what do we really know about Hell? We don’t know a lot, but if you are taking notes, we know immediately that Hell is a place of unspeakable suffering. It is a place of unspeakable suffering.
Ps. Robbie concluded with a ringing statement that we all should pay very close attention to and dwell on going forward, “Why do we talk about hell? Because what you believe about eternity affects how you live today, and if we don't understand the horrors of hell, we'll never truly appreciate the goodness and the grace of the price that God paid by sending his Son so that we could have eternal life.”
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Angels & Demons - The Reality of Hell: Pastor Robbie addressed the traditional view of Hell as a place of eternal conscious torment for Satan, and those who live in rebellion to God.
Main Scripture Passages: Matthew 25:41; 2 Thess. 1:8-9; Luke 16:19-30; Rev. 14:10-11.
Why Does Hell Exist? - Hell exists as a means of righteous judgment for all those who live in rebellion to what God has prescribed as Lord and Creator of our world.
Hell is a place of righteous, eternal judgment for Satan: Satan openly rebelled against God and led to the fall of mankind - Hell was originally intended to be a place of judgment for Him and his angels/demons.
Hell is a place of righteous, eternal judgment for Unbelievers: Given the Fall of mankind, as influenced by Satan, our rebellion (without forgiveness) must be judged as a means of God’s perfect justice.
If this topic piques your interest or if you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, check out Legacy City’s Podcast, available here, or on Spotify and Itunes.
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
Facebook: LegacyCityGWD
Instagram: LegacyCityGWD
Twitter: LegacyCityGWD
Join us next Sunday as Pastor Robbie will be starting a new series on Self-Care as prescribed by Scripture!
We’re saving you a seat, and know that You Are Loved!
Angels and Demons - Heavenly Misconceptions
Pastor Robbie continues our Angels and Demons series by addressing misconceptions about Heaven!
This past Sunday we continued our Angels and Demons series by diving into what Scripture has to say about Heaven! This has already been a great series, full of information that many of us have never really sat down and addressed before surrounding the ‘spiritual realm’ around us. Heaven and Hell are pretty broad topics, so we decided to split these up into two separate messages; we don’t want to miss out on any important details. If you were not able to make it to our Gathering this past Sunday, know that we missed you and hope to be able to see you this upcoming Sunday!
When someone talks about Heaven, what naturally comes to mind? Some think of the idea that we will be in ‘some ethereal space’ where we will be singing and praising God. Others have never really considered that question, and just know that they would rather be there than in Hell. The afterlife, and what we believe about the afterlife directly effects what we in our lives here today. But, even from what we can see in Scripture, describing heaven explicitly probably takes away from the grandeur it will likely be! 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” - this being said, what we have to work with is what we see in Scripture, and there is quite a lot to consider about Heaven. Consider John 14:1-
Pastor Robbie starts us off saying, “My strategy today is this: In order to try to help you understand what heaven is, what I want to do is I want to start by showing you what heaven is not. Because I really believe a lot of people have misconceptions about what heaven's going to be like.” The first of these misconceptions surround this idea about heaven somehow being boring! Many people have many different ideas about heaven, and this could be from Satan whispering lies in the ears of people who are spreading such an idea. “If I were the devil, what I would do, is try to convince the world today that hell is not a real place...or at the very least you shouldn't worry about it. And I would try to convince you that heaven is boring. You might as well live for today. This is all that matters. Heaven is boring, why would you want to go there?” Revelation 21:1-7 has a lot to say about heaven - heaven will be a perfect dwelling place between mankind and God, ‘death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore…’ (v4). God has a place for us, holy and perfect. Heaven is the opposite of boring, because our God is the opposite of boring, for those that know Him.
Naturally, the question we all want to know, is if heaven isn’t this or heaven isn’t that - what will heaven actually be like? In heaven, you will see Jesus face to face. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will have has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2). Your body will be perfect and new in every way. “What will heaven be like? Heaven is the absence of everything bad, painful and evil. It's the presence of everything good, holy and glorious. Based on my study of heaven, what it appears is that we'll actually have the glory of working for Jesus - in a way that we enjoy and love.” For all eternity, you are ruling and reigning with the king of all kings and the Lord of all lords. It’s the presence of everything good, holy, right and just - the absence of everything evil and painful.
The lies that we continue to hear from people around us, from those who do not know God tries their very best to convince everyone that this world is the only thing there is! They believe that this world is the only world that matters - that we should live for this life, and just do what makes us happy. Philippians 3:19-20 informs us of something very different church, “Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Not to mention, some of these same people would suggest, that even if there was a heaven, most of us will be there because ‘most of everyone is good, right?’ There is a belief that all people eventually end up in heaven, because most everyone around us are not murderers, rapists, or any severe violator you would like to input - this is not the case church, Heaven is for those who are forgiven, not those who are ‘good’ enough. All have fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23), all of us have turned our backs away from what God desires for our lives, and we must be forgiven to be able to dwell with Him eternally.
Those who are forgiven, gain eternal life in Christ Jesus. People ask themselves, Have I been good enough? What about all my secret sins. Have I been too bad? I go to church, I try to do good, I try to dedicate my life and but I keep messing up. These things are not what we find salvation in, faith in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is what gives us salvation - through this faithfulness, by God’s grace, we are forgiven. A Heaven of pure bliss and perfect communion with the Creator and Lord of our world is what awaits those who are found faithful.
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Angels & Demons - Heavenly Misconceptions: While there are many different ideas about Heaven, Scripture is clear that it is among the most unique things possible.
Main Scripture Passages: John 14:1-6; Rev. 21:1-7; 1 Cor. 2:9; 2nd Cor. 4:17-18; Rom. 3:23; Phil. 3:19-20
What Will Heaven Be Like? Is it boring? - New Bodies, no sickness, no pain, living life with Jesus, and working with pure and sinless purpose - Heaven is going to be awesome!
This World is Not Our Home - Some would say that this world is all there is, we know different - there is freedom and hope in what is to come!
Only ‘Forgiven People’ Will Be In Heaven - ‘Good’ people do not go to Heaven - ‘Forgiven’ People, go to Heaven!
If this topic piques your interest or if you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, check out Legacy City’s Podcast, available here, or on Spotify and Itunes.
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
Facebook: LegacyCityGWD
Instagram: LegacyCityGWD
Twitter: LegacyCityGWD
Join us next Sunday as Pastor Robbie continues in our Angels & Demons series when we explore the subject of Hell!
We’re saving you a seat, and know that You Are Loved!
Angels and Demons - Satan and His Demons
Pastor Robbie continues our Angels and Demons series by addressing Satan and His Demons.
This past Sunday we continued our Angels and Demons series by diving into what Scripture has to say about Satan and His Demons! This has already been a great series, full of information that many of us have never really sat down and addressed before surrounding the ‘spiritual realm’ around us. If you were not able to make it to our Gathering this past Sunday, know that we missed you and hope to be able to see you this upcoming Sunday!
Last week Pastor Robbie addressed the lighter and more favorable side of spiritual beings with Angels, but this week we dove into the less appealing subject of Satan and His Demons. In our pop culture, Demons are presented as malicious entities that make themselves known in the most explicit and terrifying ways possible. People in our western culture have this idea of Satan being a red man with horns and a pitchfork - his demons tricksters with menacing smiles. While our culture’s portrayal of Satan and his Demons are not altogether true, like many things, there are shreds of truth that still keep the image in the minds of our friends and family. Ps. Robbie started off with a unifying declaration that is paramount in understanding our situation in our world, “We need to establish a baseline - Satan is real. And taking it a step further, demons are real. They are also a part of this unseen supernatural realm.”. Here in the West, where a naturalistic and materialistic worldview dominates, these entities in pop culture are discussed in such a way that degrades the reality of our situation. Evil forces that seek to steal, kill, and destroy God’s Image Bearers are very real - our underestimation of them gives them equally real power over our communities.
Let’s start from the top and we’ll work our way down to the range of influence and impact of their works’ demons have in our world. First of all, Demons Influence the Leaders of Nations. Let’s look at Daniel who had prayed for twenty-one days nothing happened. Then, an angel of the Lord came to him and declared in Dan. 10:13, “The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia…”. This ‘prince’ is understood to be a demon of significant power, in other faith traditions we see hierarchies concerning demons defended and this is one of the verses to support such an idea. We see the forces of darkness, demons at work, trying to influence the leaders of nations!
Now, consider the work that is being done in our communities - most of the stories in the Gospels surrounding demonic activity involve the suffering of individuals in very unfortunate ways; to say the least, Demons Desire to Inflict Suffering on You. Take Matthew 17:15-18 for example, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.” Ps. Robbie implores us saying, ‘I want you to think about a six-year-old, or a seven-year-old, or a little boy or a little girl, and imagine this little child doing stuff like trying to throw themselves into a fire, or trying to jump into a pool in order to drown themselves.’ (v15). This is what was happening in this story. This demon was trying to kill this child - but Jesus rebuked the spirit and the boy was healed instantly (v18)! The torment that this family and their surrounding community endured from these events must have been unimaginable!
Now let’s get right down to it, this was a story back in Jesus’ time, and some may think that demonic activity was for this time and has ended - this is not the case church! The reality that we are dealing with, right here and right now, is that Demons Scheme to Lure You Away from God & Demons Want to Paralyze You with Fear. Satan and His Demons are schemers, and above all deceivers; for the believer, the enemy has what power is given to them and that real power comes from deception. But, this is not the end of the story, this is not the condition that Jesus lived, died, and rose again for his followers to experience - as we see in 2 Tim. 1:7 “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” We do not fight with our power, but with God’s authority; we cannot miss that today, God’s power and authority have overcome the world and all the schemes and deception(s) that the enemy seeks to wield against us! Do not let these forces induce doubt towards the amazing works that God has done in your life - it is this power, this trans-formative power, that he can wield to conquer whatever force may be against you.
Ps. Robbie concluded with “There is an evil force that is more wicked than you could ever imagine that wants to steal, kill, and destroy everything that matters to the heart of God. The demons want your family, your marriage, your children, your finances, your health, and your relationship with God. Bottom line is, they want you.” but we are not defeated, we are not powerless against these forces; for we have been empowered with a Holy Spirit that, when wielded, will conquer all forces that come against us. God conquers the forces that come against us for “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him.” (Col. 2:15)!
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Angels & Demons - Satan and His Demons: Satan, and His Demons, are very real and active in our world.
Main Scripture Passages: Eph. 6:10-12; Mark 5:2-8; Eze. 28:12-15; Dan. 10:13; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 1:7 Col. 2:13-15.
Demons Influence the Leaders of Nations: Powerful forces come against those who have influence and power over the affairs of the world.
Demons Desire to Inflict Suffering on You: These forces desire to make you and everyone around you suffer!
Demons Scheme to Lure You Away from God: The deceptive schemes of these entities have one ultimate goal in mind - to instill doubt about who God is and what He has done through the blood of Jesus.
Demons want to Paralyze You with Fear: These schemes unto doubting the work of God are done through inducing fear in people, and that is their entry point.
If this topic piques your interest or if you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, check out Legacy City’s Podcast, available here, or on Spotify and Itunes.
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
Facebook: LegacyCityGWD
Instagram: LegacyCityGWD
Twitter: LegacyCityGWD
Join us next Sunday as Pastor Robbie continues in our Angels & Demons series when we explore the subject of Heaven and Hell!
We’re saving you a seat, and know that You Are Loved!