Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20011223.htm

GOD'S ANGELIC CONFLICT CRISIS GUIDANCE GIFTS
Part IV: God's Use Of Rare Events For Crisis Angelic Conflict Guidance
(Matthew 2:1-11 with Numbers 24:16-17b)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

So far in our sermon series, we have learned that God's leading of us even in emergency situations dealing with the angelic conflict all tie into Scripture so that by checking SCRIPTURE we can verify our experiences as being God's practical signals to us!

(1) However, a believer might ask, "What if we need God's guidance in an EMERGENCY situation and we are not AWARE of the RELEVANT Scripture INVOLVED -- what happens so that God can get His guidance to us THEN?!"

(2) Another related question that is OFTEN asked of those who question the credibility of the Christian faith is this: "If the Christian faith is TRUE, and it teaches the BIBLE'S God is the ONLY TRUE God so that without Christ men are in danger of Satan's damnable deception to go to hell, HOW can the Bible's God be a Gracious God of LOVE by not revealing Himself to so many people throughout the world who don't even KNOW about the Bible or Jesus Christ?"



Well, when we or others are IGNORANT of what is needed to be KNOWN in the Bible about the TRUTH so God can USE it to GUIDE us in CRITICAL angelic conflict issues, WHAT does God do THEN to get His message across?!



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )



Need: "As we view God's protective guidance in the angelic conflict, I note God ties His guidance to SCRIPTURE as it is sufficient for all guidance, 2 Tim. 4:16-17. Yet, what does God do to offer CRISIS angelic conflict help if we do not KNOW the right passage to use?!"
  1. Since we before learned Satan tried to kill Jesus at His birth (Rev. 12:4), God used a rare event to lead the Biblically ignorant magi to find Him in such a way that His Son would still be kept from harm:
    1. The Magi who sought the newborn "king of the Jews" through finding a new star did not know the clear Micah 5:2 prophecy of Christ's birthplace that the scribes knew, showing they were Biblically ignorant astrologers, Matt. 2:1-6; Ryr. St. Bib., KJV, ftn. to Mtt. 2:1.
    2. Also, under Satan's influence, Herod could have used the magi to form an information trail via their interrogations en route to find Jesus so he could secretly find and kill the newborn king, Matt. 2:7-8, 16.
    3. To help these Biblically ignorant astrologers find Jesus without leaving such a trail, God miraculously moved the star to reveal the baby's house ONLY to them as ASTROLOGERS, Matthew 2:9!
  2. However, we know from Deuteronomy 13:1-4 that God does NOT want US to make such EXPERIENTIAL EVENTS our BASIS for guidance, for EXPERIENCES can DECEIVE unto ERROR!
  3. Well, EXAMINING even the MIRACULOUS GUIDANCE of the STAR reveals GOD leaves "TRACKS" IN HIS rare events that CERTIFY from SCRIPTURE just WHICH rare events are HIS:
    1. Though Scripturally ignorant, the magi had certain beliefs about new stars that God could use along with a miracle not only to guide them geographically, but also to reveal theological TRUTH, Matt. 2:9-10:
      1. As experts in astrology, the magi were pagan soothsayers, cf. Z.P.E.B., v. 5, s. v., "Star of the Magi," by W. White, Jr.
      2. Now, all ancient astrologist soothsayers felt events in a particular quadrant in the heavens foretold events on the land beneath it, Ibid.
      3. Also, starting with the Sumerians, all Near Eastern cuneiform writings used the character called a "dingir," an imprint of a stylus on a clay tablet representing a star, and placed it before a name to signify the party named was a deity, Ibid.; Caldwell, Oswalt and Sheehan, An Akkadian Gram. (Marquette Univ.), Part I, p. 1-11.
      4. In union with this practice, astrologers taught when a new star appeared above a nation's astrological quadrant, it signified a birth of a royal-deity for that nation, Ibid., White!
      5. When a new star then appeared in the quadrant above Israel, the magi of Matthew 2 came to "worship" what they would have believed was a newborn king-deity of the Jews, Matthew 2:1-2.
      6. Now, all the ONE TRUE Creator GOD did was MOVE the STAR to GUIDE these Magi to the BUILDING where Jesus abode, something MIRACULOUS to ASTROLOGERS; as a result, the MAGI would have RECOGNIZED they had come to worship the CREATOR'S NEWBORN KING-DEITY, a view that happens to be very CORRECT THEOLOGY, Luke 1:31-35!
      7. So, when the star moved to guide them to Jesus' house, the magi saw they were being led by the Creator to His true king-deity, and with great joy they came to worship Jesus, Matthew 2:10-11!
    2. However, lest we be swayed by this star event to make experience our basis for reality versus Deuteronomy 13:1-4, note the event leaves a "TRACK" going back to ancient Biblical PROPHECY:
      1. Scripture records an ancient pagan astrologer, Balaam was once hired by Balak of Moab to cast a harmful spell against Israel when the nation traveled toward Canaan, Num. 22:1-7; Ibid., White.
      2. Whenever Balaam tried to put a bad spell on Israel, God would force him to predict blessing, and one such blessing is recorded in Numbers 24:17 where God utilized Balaam's divination format to predict the arrival of a star signaling Messiah's arrival, Ibid.
      3. Thus, in HINDSIGHT, we know the magi's experience fulfilled Biblical prophecy framed in a pagan astrology setting due to the rare work of God to counter Balaam's divination, Ibid., White.
Application: For protection from harm in the angelic conflict, we (1) must believe on Christ to be transferred from Satan's rule to God's kingdom, Jn. 3:16; Col. 1:13-14. (2) Then [along with the other signals in this sermon series], (a) we HEED what RARE events signal we must do as God communicates to US in them in terms OUR CULTURAL and THEOLOGICAL CONTEXTS signal to be the TRUTH! (b) Yet, we must LATER be sure we VALIDATE such events from SCRIPTURE to keep our bearings on defining truth straight, cf. Deuteronomy 13:1-4!

Lesson: God used a MIRACLE of a star's MOVING to GUIDE the Biblically ignorant magi to His Son and the truth, but even THIS event had a "track" pointing back to Scripture that VERIFIES it was of GOD! >

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 Raymond J. Davis, whom I knew and who is now with the Lord, was an SIM missionary who once worked among the Wallamo tribe in Ethiopia. He recorded in his book, Fire on the Mountains rare, intriguing revelations given to pagan witchdoctors before SIM missionaries arrived in Ethiopia with the Christian gospel (as follows):

(a) On pages 240-241, he wrote of the witchdoctor named Asa who led his people in the spiritually dangerous Satan worship. Asa claimed around 1900 to have had a revelation from the Creator of the heavens and earth about a code of laws the people were to follow. This code of laws closely resembled the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20.

He taught the people to pray to the Creator instead of to Satan. Yet, Asa knew nothing of the Bible or of the Christian faith!

Asa died shortly before the Christian missionaries arrived, but his teachings influenced an entire area to be open to the Christian faith.

(b) Another witchdoctor, Cheleke appeared further south in Gamu Gofa province. He predicted someone would one day bring a golden book, stand under the wanza tree near his house to teach the message of that book. Further, he claimed a big house would be built in every village, and men would enter it and save their souls.

In 1951, nationalist evangelist, Laliso arrived and gave the Gospel to Cheleke under his wanza tree, using the Wordless Book. When Laliso turned to the last page, the page of gold, Cheleke was beside himself with wonder. He performed an incantation on the entrails of a goat and found the book was to be believed.

Though Cheleke died without having accepted Christ, his house was later used as a Church where men came to be justified through believing in Christ as Savior from sin. (Ibid., Davis, p. 3, 54, 59-61)

In HINDSIGHT, we know GOD was at work in these BIBLICALLY IGNORANT pagan witchdoctors because of what SCRIPTURE teaches that VALIDATES their insights!

God guided them like he did the pagan magi of Matthew 2!