Greg’s Blog

Angels and Demons, Part 2

The title above is the topic for my message tonight in Orange County at our Thursday night study.

By the way, this weekly study is really going well. The focus each week is worship, looking at God’s Word together, and then giving people an opportunity to come to Christ.

What have angels come to do?

Last Thursday, we looked at the work of angels in the life of the believer. What have the angels come to do, specifically?

1. Angels sometimes reveal God’s purposes.

You remember that three angels came to Abraham to warn him of the judgment of Sodom. An angel was dispatched to Zacharias to tell him he would be the father of John the Baptist. Gabriel himself appeared to Mary to tell her she would be give birth to Jesus, and he also appeared to Joseph to encourage him.

2. Angels help us to come to salvation and sometimes give guidance.

Cornelius was praying one day when an angel came to him to tell him to seek out Peter. An angel led Philip to go to the desert to ultimately share the gospel with the man from Ethiopia.

3. Angels protect us.

Psalm 34:7 says, “For the angel of the LORD guards all who fear him, and he rescues them.” This happened for Simon Peter when he was in prison. The believers went to pray, and an angel was sent to free him.

4. When our day to leave this Earth comes, angels escort believers to heaven.

We read in Luke 16:22, “So it was that the beggar died, and was carried
by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.

To hear this entire message, given last Thursday in O.C. and last Sunday at Harvest in Riverside, click here.

Fallen angels?

But what about fallen angels? Where did they come from? What is their agenda? How can they be overcome?

We will talk about that and much more tonight, then again at Harvest in Riverside this coming Sunday, which you can view or hear live on KWVE (107.9 FM).

BTW, did you download that cool KWVE app for your iPhone yet? With it, you can listen to KWVE anywhere in the country and, I suppose, the world!

Michael Jackson

I have had more response than normal to the blog post I wrote on the sad deaths of both Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson last Thursday.

I have expanded that piece a bit and will run it this weekend at WorldNetDaily as my weekly column. WorldNetDaily has a huge viewership, so many others will hopefully gain perspective from it.

That’s all for now.

Long Island NY Harvest Recap.

Watch the recap video for the Long Island Harvest!

Two Icons

As we all know, two American icons passed into eternity just last Thursday: Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.

Farrah Fawcett was once regarded as one of the world’s most beautiful women. Her hairstyle was copied by countless girls in her day, and her posters hung on many a young man’s wall.

Tragically, she contracted cancer and eventually succumbed to it. Prior to her death, when she was still trying to beat it, a TV special chronicled her fight and her hope to overcome this dreaded disease.

Unfortunately, it was not to be and Farrah Fawcett entered eternity.

Although many knew Farrah was fighting cancer and might die soon, the death of pop superstar Michael Jackson was a shock to many. Now, as more comes out about his life, it would appear that he had been on a downward spiral for  months, even years.

Jackson had unprecedented success, winning 13 Grammys and selling a staggering 750 million records. But now he too has entered eternity.

I don’t know where Farrah and Michael were at spiritually. I only hope they put their faith in Christ.

A man enters eternity

On the same day that this news was breaking, I was called to visit a man on his deathbed. He knew he had cancer and that he only had days to live.

We talked about eternity and though he claimed to have faith, we went over God’s glorious plan of salvation and prayed as he committed his life to Jesus Christ.

I told him that I would visit him again on Saturday, but he did not make it. He ended up passing into eternity, into the arms of the Lord, only hours later.

I am so glad I went to visit him. Thursday was an extremely busy day and I had considered waiting to go until Saturday, but I felt prompted by the Lord to go that day.

We need to help people get ready for eternity

That is why we all need to share the gospel. Because we never know when life on this earth will end.

If you know someone who is not yet a believer, go tell them today how to come into a relationship with Jesus Christ, the living Lord. Because everyone dies.

Elvis Presley, the King of Rock, is dead.

James Brown, the King of Soul, is dead.

Kurt Cobain, the King of Grunge, is dead.

And now Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, is dead.

But Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, is alive forevermore. Let’s tell people that, so they too can live forever.

Jesus said, “I am he who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death” (Revelation 1:18 NKJV).

Speaking to a multitude

It was my privilege to speak to a crowd of at least 65,000 last night (Friday) in Mount Union, Pennsylvania, for the Creation Festival.

This Woodstock-style gathering, led by Harry Thomas, features the best in contemporary Christian music and draws massive crowds year after year. They also include speakers, and I was invited to address this modern-day multitude after a stellar performance by Lincoln Brewster.

Rain keeps following me!

So guess what happened right before I spoke and while Lincoln was singing? It rained, and I mean it rained hard!

We prayed and, sure enough, just like in Long Island, the rain stopped, the clouds cleared, and sunshine came beaming down. I spoke and also had my son Jonathan come and give some of his testimony. It was a great day.

I will speaking at one more Creation Festival on July 23 in George, Washington. If you are in that area or would like to know more, click here.

This Sunday

I will be back in my Essentials series this Sunday at Harvest. I will be speaking on the topic of “Angels and Demons.”

The primary focus of my message will be on the purpose and work of angels in the life of the Christian. Angels are powerful spirit-beings that do the bidding of the Lord. They are more active in our lives then we may realize. We will look at that together.

Michael Jackson and Farah Fawcett

Last Thursday, two American icons entered into eternity. I will talk about that a bit in my message tomorrow as well.

Join us if you can, or watch the live or archived webcast at harvest.org.

And finally . . .

I have a article posted at WorldNetDaily this weekend. To read that, click here.

And to read my long-form weekend devotion, click here.

Thursdays in O.C., the new iPhone, and some killer software

Hey everyone!

I am speaking in the O.C. tonight from my series Essentials: What Every Christian Needs to Know. My topic is “Angels and Demons.”

We live in a natural world, but all around us is a supernatural one–the realm of God and Satan, angels and demons. I will focus specifically on the work and mission of angels, especially in the life of the believer.

I hope you can join us.

The new iPhone

You know that I am a sucker for new technology, so yes, I have the new iPhone 3GS. Now for my quick personal review.

I like it overall. It is indeed faster the the iPhone 3G. The programs launch at twice the speed, including text messages. The form factor is the same, but it has some very cool new features, including video!

I have shot a few videos and I have to say I have been really impressed. I will post one or two in the near future.

The disappointment for me personally is the battery life. It seems to be about the same as the iPhone 3G, which for me barely makes it through a day.

But overall, I would I would give it a “thumbs up!”

Killer software

For all of you Bible students out there, you need to know that Logos software is the best thing going. It is just amazing how much they have loaded into these programs that you can install on your computer. When it comes to sermon prep, this stuff is so helpful.

And now, Logos has released a version that is native to Apple computers! That is great news for all of you Mac users out there. I highly recommend this software package for any serious student of the Bible.

For more info on their product, click here.