[PASTOR MICHAEL NOVOTNY]
When a Christian dies, do
they become an angel?
When God decides that your
time is up or someone you
love passes on, do they
watch over us as angels in
heaven?
Pastor Jon Enter is going
to answer those questions
next on Time of Grace.
[MUSIC]
[PASTOR JON ENTER]
At Thanksgiving this last
year, my wife and I took
our four daughters and we
flew from where we live in
South Florida up to the
Midwest to go visit our
grandparents - well, the
kid's grandparents; our
parents.
Follow that commandment of
the Lord: "Honor your
father and mother," right?
Bring the kids on the
plane and bring them up
there.
It seems backwards.
When it gets cold up here,
most people leave here and
they go south and we went
the opposite way, north,
but it's a lot of fun.
It's great to get together
with our parents, our
siblings, have the cousins
play together and have a
great time.
But my wife and I also
wanted to experience
culture; have our kids
also get to know where we
grew up and experience
some new things in life.
So I went online and
started searching what is
going on?
Maybe there's a festival
or something new in the
area that I didn't know
about and I discovered
something and I was not
taking my kids to it.
A short drive away from my
parent's where I grew up
is the Axe Murderer House.
And apparently what
happened was back in 1912,
eight people were in this
home and someone came in
and murdered all of them,
apparently with an axe,
and it was an open case;
it still is not solved.
Someone bought this crime
scene of a home and they
turned it then into this
moneymaking machine where
you can come in and you
can tour it and hear the
stories of how it's
haunted.
There's dozens and dozens
of low budget cable
television shows where
they're hunting the ghosts
and they're out there
trying to find it and
there's such confusion
that is out there in the
world.
And then movies?
Oh, movies are bad; bad
about this!
Like the Sixth Sense or
the movie Ghost?
You're nodding your heads
going, "Yes, I remember
these!"
If you didn't watch the
Sixth Sense, I won't ruin
it for you, but Bruce
Willis is talking with a
little boy and this little
boy apparently sees dead
people.
Do you remember that from
the movie?
But these people
accidental death, or
they're murdered, and then
they were stuck aimlessly,
angrily, walking around
life and suddenly this
little boy could see them
and that boy was trying to
help them find rest and
balance in their life so
they could go on to the
afterlife.
And this is being infused
into our minds, our
culture, our
understanding, which is
not what the Bible says.
And then there's the movie
Ghost.
The highest grossing movie
of the 1990s.
You've got Patrick Swayze,
you've got Demi Moore.
It made $505 million - I
think it was like $22
million they made the
movie on; I think about
$17 million of that was
making Patrick Swayze
hologram form, you know,
when he's walking around.
But if you've seen that
movie, Patrick Swayze gets
murdered, he's stuck here
in a state of unrest, you
know exactly whodunit but
he goes sleuth style to
try to right wrongs, he
fights bad guys, he makes
a coin levitate through a
room, and then he
possesses Whoopi Goldberg.
You know, normal after
death stuff [Pastor:
Laughter] You picked up on
my sarcasm with that,
right?
[Audience: Laughter] But
there's a lot of
confusion.
So the goal today that we
have is to clear up that
confusion; the goal today
is to gain for you a
greater joy for those who
have died and gone before
us in faith.
And a greater peace for
you in God's powerful
love, his incredible
mercy, that he's given to
you.
Now in order for us to do
that, we've got to have a
pretty tough conversation;
a pretty difficult
conversation because we've
got some things messed up
in our minds.
Here's the first thing:
When we die, we
immediately and
permanently leave this
earth.
That's what the Bible
says.
We're not stuck here in a
state of unrest.
On the day of our death,
Hebrews 9:27 says this:
"People are destined to
die once and then after
that to face judgment."
There's no indication of
there being a time lapse.
You die, you face
judgment.
And so then we go and we
stand before our Almighty
God in heaven in judgment.
Now that might sound a
little scary but it's not
because the Bible says how
that works out.
If you have faith in God,
faith in Jesus' amazing
grace and forgiveness for
you, no matter how long
you've had that faith, how
deep that faith is, if you
have faith, God says,
faith as small as a
mustard seed, faith in God
and Jesus, you have
heaven.
But for those who don't
believe, there's hell and
that happens immediately
on that day.
Think about the thief of
the cross for a second;
that man who was so rotten
and so evil he's being
executed publicly for all
of his sins.
And he comes to faith by
God's grace right before
the end.
If there's ever someone
who's going to need to
stick around here for a
while in a state of
unrest, it's the guy who
got murdered, killed by
the government.
If ever there's a guy
who'd want to stay here
and right wrongs now that
he's a Christian believer,
it'd be the thief on the
cross.
If ever there's a guy
who's going to want to go
talk to his loved ones and
tell them about Christ,
it's the thief on the
cross.
But yet, what does Jesus
say to him?
"Today, you will be with
me in paradise." Because
when we die, we
immediately and
permanently leave this
earth.
We stand before our Lord
in judgment.
Those who have faith in
Jesus go to heaven; those
who do not have faith in
Jesus end up going to
hell.
That is how the Bible says
this works.
We're not stuck here.
You're not going to make
guest appearances on low
budget cable television
shows about ghost hunters.
You're not going to make
things go bump in the
night.
But instead, you're going
to stand before your God
with the faith that you
have that the Holy Spirit
has placed in your heart,
heaven.
Heaven is yours!
Now, the devil doesn't
want you to think that.
The devil wants to trick
you and he's dastardly
dirty, this devil, that he
goes after us in our
moments of big weakness
when we have lost a dear
loved one and we're
longing for that
connection there.
And so he swoops in,
trying to convince us that
our loved ones who have
died and gone to heaven,
that they have power, that
they have presence over
this earth.
That we should trust in
them, talk to them,
instead of trusting our
Almighty God.
And the devil loves this
because any way he can
take your attention, my
focus, off of our God and
place it on anything else,
he's winning and he's
happy and that's because
of our confusion of death
and the afterlife.
So now the next thing we
need to understand here is
that when someone dies -
and we know now they die
and it's immediate and
permanent; they're gone -
they go up to face God,
judged.
Those who do not have
faith go to hell.
Now those who are in hell,
those who are in hell have
no power, they have no
presence on this earth.
They can't pass from hell
up to this earth, which
means if there is
paranormal activity going
on, it's not from the
souls that were murdered
there.
Do you know who it is?
It's evil angels.
That's scarier by far!
So why in the world would
we as Christians go, "Oh,
haunted this?
Let's go over there!"
You're starting to crack
your heart open towards
evil.
Don't play with evil.
Just don't do it.
Those who are in hell, in
unbelief in hell, they are
in hell; they cannot leave
from hell.
They have no power here,
they have no presence
here.
Think of Luke 16, the
famous account in the
Bible where it's the rich
man and Lazarus, okay?
And the rich man in this
life has all the glorious
things here but then he
doesn't have faith in God,
so he goes to hell.
And then there's Lazarus
who has absolutely nothing
here.
He's destitute, he's got
open sores, the dogs are
licking his wounds.
You know we complain about
our healthcare system but
how would you like that
for your healthcare
system?
Dogs lick your wounds.
That's what he had but he
had faith!
He had faith in Jesus and
so he's in heaven and if
you remember this account,
Jesus is telling this and
he says the rich man in
hell is pleading; he wants
someone to go to those
here on earth to warn them
because he can't.
Those who are in hell have
no power; they have no
presence here on this
earth.
Same thing is true though
for those who are in
heaven.
They have no power or
presence on this earth, as
well.
And that's the point of
that account of the rich
man and Lazarus that the
message comes back to the
rich man and says, "Hey
man, they have the Bible.
They have everything that
they need.
Even if someone did come
from heaven to earth and
that's not their job, they
wouldn't believe them
anyway." Believers who are
in heaven have no power,
have no presence, on this
earth.
Their job, your job when
you get to heaven, your
loved ones who've died in
faith, do you know what
their job is right now?
Party!
Sign me up for that!
Celebrate the power of the
forgiveness of our
Almighty God.
That is their job.
But the devil has been
tricking millions and
millions and millions of
Christians for a long,
long time into thinking
that we should pray to
believers in heaven asking
them to have power and
presence over our lives.
But the Bible instead, the
Bible says this.
This is 1 Timothy 2:5:
"For there's one God and
one mediator between God
and mankind, the man
Christ Jesus." God says
that our prayers are to go to
and through Jesus - that
our prayers are only to go
to our Almighty God,
Father, Son and Holy
Spirit and to trust that
the believers who are in
heaven have power and
presence over this earth -
goes exactly against what
God says.
We've got one mediator,
one helper, that is to
help us in our needs.
But that's not what's
taught in some Christian
churches.
They're taught - and I
don't understand why
because it's not in the
Bible - that if you want
to sell your house, pray
to this believer in heaven
and trust that they will
then help you but that's
not in the Bible.
It's not there.
If you've got problems in
your marriage, pray to
this believer in heaven
who's good at marriage and
they will help you.
If your son is an
alcoholic, pray to this
believer in heaven and
that believer will help
them.
But the Bible says
believers in heaven have
no power, have no presence
here.
Instead, the Bible says we
have one God and one
mediator between God and
mankind; the man Christ
Jesus.
Now maybe that's news to
you; maybe you never heard
that that is something
that's taught out there.
But even if you're not
coming from a church
background that's there,
it filters its way into
many people's hearts
because the devil knows
that we long for our loved
ones that have died.
I would love to have a
connection still with my
dear, dear grandparents.
I would love to be able to
talk to my son that we
lost; many of you know
that my son died and his
twin sister survived.
And she's been a huge
heart healer for us but I
would love it - I long to
have that connection with
my son and the Bible says
someday I will.
But someday, someday.
And what a glorious day
that will be!
But right now, the one who
has power, who has
presence on this world,
it's our Almighty God,
which is better by far.
Why ever would we think
that our loved one who is
in heaven has power or
presence here?
I've actually had someone
tell me that they were
running late to a job
interview and they got in
their car and they're
like, "I'm going to be
late.
I'm not going to get this
job." And they got every
green light and got there
on time, just in time.
They got the job and they
went, "Man, my dad, my dad
who is in heaven, gave me
green lights all the way
through.
Dad got me that job." And
I looked at that person
and I said, "You're right
but your Father in heaven
who loves you, who wants
the best for you because
he has power, he has
presence here on this
earth." But there's such
confusion that's out there
that when grandma died, we
say, "Well, grandma got
her wings," and "Grandma's
an angel now." And when
our son died, we had so
many people that told us,
"Well, now he's an angel."
We decorated our daughter
who survived, Maggie, we
decorated her nursery in
angel wings but we told
everyone that came in it's
not because we believe our
son is an angel but that
he's now with - with - the
angels.
And that's something else
we need to understand.
It says it here in Luke
20: "For those who are
considered worthy of
taking part in the age to
come and in the
resurrection from the
dead, will neither marry
nor be given in marriage
and they can no longer die
for they are like the
angels." It doesn't say
that our loved ones who
die are angels; it says
that our loved ones who
die and in faith in Jesus
in heaven are like angels.
Now what does that mean?
Only angels are the ones
sent from God down to
earth.
They have the ability to
go between.
But we're like angels?
What does that mean?
It says that right there;
that when we go to heaven,
we'll neither marry nor be
given in marriage.
Do you know how good that
is?
That in heaven you won't
be married or be given in
marriage?
That means that when you
walk into heaven with the
pearly gates, there won't
be people trolling the
heavenly gates going, "How
you doing?"
[Audience: Laughter] Our
job when we go to heaven
is not horizontal.
I'm not a - my focus is
not "dad" in heaven; my
focus is not "husband" in
heaven.
My focus is not "pastor"
or "son" in heaven.
My focus in heaven is to
celebrate; to praise the
Almighty God for his
forgiveness, for his
mercy, for his love.
That's my job and that's
what I want you to leave
one part of this message
with, is knowing that your
loved one's job in heaven
is not to watch out over
you anymore.
Their job is to celebrate!
You ever been to a wedding
where you're at the
wedding and nothing else
matters, you forget
everything else, and
you're just in that moment
and you don't want it to
stop.
God calls heaven what?
The heavenly wedding
banquet.
The joy on top of joy.
And that is what your
loved one is doing.
They don't have power,
they don't have presence
here.
Praise God, because you've
got one better!
You've got God himself who
loves you, who died for
you, who gave his life for
you.
He went through hell.
Jesus went through hell so
that you could have
heaven.
Jesus rapped himself in
human flesh.
He gave presence here on
this earth by giving his
life, walking here among
us, so that the God of
creation could save his
creation.
And that God, your God,
Jesus, has power and
presence over this world,
power and presence over
your life, and gives his
life and all for you.
And so we hear this of our
loved ones who are in
heaven.
This is Revelation 14:
"Then I heard a voice from
heaven say, 'Write this:
Blessed are the dead who
die in the Lord from now
on.' 'Yes,' says the
Spirit, ' they will rest
from their labors.'" Our
loved ones in heaven,
they're resting; resting
from having to take care
of us here on this earth.
They're celebrating in
heaven.
Praise God for that
blessing and praise God
for the greater blessing;
that Christ came here
among us.
That Christ crucified his
perfect flesh to forgive
you, to forgive me of our
confusion.
Our praying to others that
aren't God.
Our thinking our loved
ones can protect us in all
the sins and all the
wrongs that we've ever
done.
Every sin washed clean
away so that your sights
are set where they need to
be.
Not off on someone else
but on the one who loves
you, forgives you, who
protects you, and helps
you, and changes your life
so that you don't fear
death, that you're stuck
here.
That you don't fear what's
happening for your loved
ones; that they're
celebrating in glory.
But have joy as Jesus has
changed everything.
I want to conclude by
sharing with you something
that I've seen in my short
time of being a pastor.
And as I have been out
there and I've been
serving at funerals and
I'm seeing everyone going
through this transition
time of what happened to
my loved one and I miss
them dearly and I can see
the devil prying on their
hearts and trying to steal
the joy, the peace, that
God gives to us.
And every worship service
that we have a funeral, we
speak Psalm 23; most
Christian churches do
that.
But I've noticed as I'm
leading that service that
there's a thud; there is a
hit on the heart while
going through that psalm.
People start out strong
with confidence that the
Lord is my Shepherd; God
is watching out over me.
And then we get to the
part of the psalm where it
says, "Yea though I walk
through the valley of the
shadow of death." And that
thud hits.
And I always pause now and
say there's a word you're
putting the emphasis on
that shouldn't have
emphasis.
We hear the word "death"
and it thuds us.
No!
It's in a prepositional
phrase, which means it's
not the main point of it.
It's the shadow of death
because of the power of
Jesus destroying death on
Easter Sunday, death is
but a shadow to us!
A shadow to our loved one.
It has no power or it is
no essence over us; not at
all.
It's a shadow.
Can a shadow hurt you?
No.
But a shadow can scare you
if you allow it.
Don't be scared of what
happened to your loved
ones.
Have joy of what happened
for your loved ones
through Jesus.
They've gone through the
shadow of death and for
you and I who are here,
yea though I walk through
the valley.
When you hear the "valley"
and you feel, oh, this low
point.
But if you're walking
through a valley, what
does that mean?
You're going up.
And that is what Christ
has done for you.
Christ has power and
presence in your life.
Christ gives you more joy
for your loved ones who
are in heaven celebrating
and praising and Christ
gives you more peace that
his power over death has
been given to you.
So celebrate him, trust
him, and know that God
loves you.
Amen.
[MUSIC]
[PASTOR MICHAEL
NOVOTNY] Sometimes,
Christians panic at that
message; that their loved
ones haven't turned into
angels in heaven.
But here's the incredible
news: Our loved ones who
believe in Jesus are with
Jesus.
They're satisfied,
content, they're rejoicing
in his presence.
And although we miss them
dearly, guess who's
watching over us?
That same Jesus and that
gives us all the hope, all
the comfort, all the joy
that we need.
I'll be back with you in a
moment to pray.
[PROMOTION] Starting this
January, longtime viewers
of Time of Grace will have
a chance to meet a whole
new place - the church
that I love and serve, The
Core, in Appleton,
Wisconsin.
Now things might look a
little bit different here
at our church but we know
that so many things are
not going to change.
The timeless truths that
we love and appreciate
will continue to be our
message and that's where
you come in.
We need generous
supporters like you to
help us reach our $125,000
goal.
By your continual gifts,
your prayers and your
support, you can help
God's grace reach brand
new people in my community
and, we pray, throughout
our nation.
People like Valerie, from
Texas.
Valerie says, "Time of
Grace has helped me become
more spiritually mature
than I could ever have
thought.
Although I still struggle
a lot, I use Time of Grace
to replenish my faith,
strength, and get my back
on track." To thank you
for your gift, we would
love to send you our
insightful and encouraging
book, "Angels," because
everyone loves a mystery,
by Pastor Jon Enter and
Pastor Mark Jeske.
So call the number on your
screen and start making an
impact today and may God
bless you.
[PASTOR MICHAEL
NOVOTNY] We here at Time
of Grace are so grateful
for the partnership that
we have with you.
We hope our messages give
you so much of God's grace
and hope and we're so
grateful for your gifts
and your prayers and we
would love to pray for you
in return.
Is there anything in your
life that our team here at
Time of Grace could pray
for?
Are you grieving the loss
of someone you care deeply
about?
And can we lift you up
with a word of
encouragement to our
heavenly Father?
We would love for you to
let us know so that we can
bring this partnership
even further and build the
support we have as part of
the family of God.
Would you join me in a
word of prayer?
Dear God, We thank you for
your promises; that those
who take their last breath
in faith go immediately
into your presence.
I think about the apostle
Paul's words who loved his
mission here on earth yet
he knew it was better to
take his last breath and
to be with you.
God, help us to see heaven
that way - not as a
mediocre or boring place
but a place bursting with
happiness and joy because
you are there.
And when we bury the ones
that we love and when we
grieve, help us to grieve
with hope knowing they are
with you.
We thank you, God, for
your angels and we thank
you just as much for the
promise you have given to
us human beings who die in
the Lord.
We pray this all, Jesus,
in your powerful name,
Amen.
With Time of Grace, I'm
Pastor Mike Novotny, and
all the hope, all the joy,
all the faith that you
need, it can all start
now.
[PROMOTION] "The truth of
God's word is truth and
yet the way in which you
can share it can be done
in a wide variety of
ways." "We've taken a
modern style but we have
tried to embrace every
page of the Bible and
every topic that people
are dealing with." "When
we founded The Core, we
were going to do
everything with a specific
intent and focus, aimed at
a target audience of
people who were between
the ages of 18 and thirty.
If you're targeting 18 to
30 year olds and what is
the logical time to have
church?"
"The founding, you know,
principle of The Core was
to try to reach people
that weren't being reached
and, you know, a lot of
people who, um, maybe
aren't passionate about
church, it's not in their
schedule, they're out with
friends on a Saturday
night, so [laughter], we
have a 9:00 a.m., 10:00
a.m.
service, some people
aren't rolling out of bed
by then." "So we said
we're going to do night
because they'll be up by
5:00 and figured that was
a great way to try and
create an environment
where they were the focal
point.
That intent was clearly a
part of the evening
service time slot.
The funny stories from the
beginning were we would
tell people, "Hey, we're a
church who's target is 18
to 30," and they'd say,
"But we love what you're
doing and we're passionate
about reaching 18 to 30,"
and we'd say, "Well,
that's great.
Come on, board," and then
we'd get some young
families of people who'd
say, "I know I'm not your
target but we'd love to be
a part of your church,"
and they'd come and begin
worshipping with us and
they'd invite their
friends who had families
and so what you had very
quickly was this large
group of people - some who
were in their sixties and
some who are even older,
in their eighties - and
they come every week."
"It's interesting because
we see more and more
people in our age coming
to The Core.
They'll go to their
traditional service in the
morning at the various
churches they belong to;
then we'll see them here,
too." "I think people our
age, they're probably a
little more reluctant to
change, as I was.
You know, the type of
music that we, you know,
sing and participate with.
Um, but the people, they,
they will embrace change
eventually.
They will." "The people
love to come to church.
We call it a "get to" at
times, not a "have to."
But when church is a "get
to," the things that make
it a "get to" are the
people." "In the past, my
church attendance was
driving up to the church
three minutes before it
started, walking in the
door, sitting in the pew.
Church would let out, we'd
walk back to our car, go
home, and we didn't even
think about it again until
the next Sunday.
So I think now it's become
a much bigger, a bigger
thing.
You know, church is just
more than the actual
service time." "As soon as
the cars start driving in
the parking lot, it's just
an excitement level as you
get to see your friends
again for the week and the
fact that they come half
hour, hour, before church
even starts gives us the
time for fellowship, have
coffee, hang out, and then
the same thing again after
church." "So the church is
more than a building, the
church is more than an
hour, more than a service.
It's people.
And I think one of the
things The Core models
well - we're going to do
two things and do them
well.
One is we're going to do
church and we're going to
do groups where
relationships are
developed, where people
get connected, ah, in a
smaller group setting, and
I think that has just
overflowed in the DNA of
our church." "Fellowship
here at The Core is kind
of ah, ah, a culture of
ours that we have, um.
It's a family so when
we're done with church or
even before church, people
come early and they just
enjoy having that
opportunity to get
together and connect."
"One of the biggest things
about The Core is just the
family atmosphere that is
basically part of our
culture here.
It's kind of engrained in
your DNA that The Core is
a close-knit family and we
can lean on one another
and there's a large
participation in the life
groups." "It's a family.
Um, again, it's not just a
church; it's our family.
And it's so awesome
because we get to spend,
you know, all these
holidays with our whole
family, you know, in
church, which is so - just
so great!
Um, and then the small
groups that we get to be
part of are incredible and
that's where those
relationships really
start, in those small
groups, and it carries
over in church and it's
just such a gift, such a
blessing." "When we talk
about like discipleship or
growing as a Christian,
um, like the spiritual
fruit of love and joy and
peace, um, we talk about
five roots and only one of
them is church; what we
call "gather." And then we
have groups, we have
growing in the word at
home, giving generously,
going out on a mission for
Jesus.
Like if I had a big meal
today and then didn't eat
for seven days, I would
not be a happy person to
be around, you know?
So just that idea of
continually needing to be
fed with God's presence
and his word, that's
really huge for what we
do."
[MUSIC]
[ANNOUNCER]
The preceding program was
sponsored by the friends
and partners of Time of
Grace.
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