Allen Jackson - Another Dimension - Part 1
We began a new study this weekend. The title’s familiar, the material, we’re a bit removed from, but it’s «Angels, Demons, and You». And in this session, I want to talk specifically about the existence of another dimension. You know our five physical senses equip us to deal with the material world in which we find ourselves. The ability to taste, to touch, to hear and see and smell. It enables us to engage with the world, but our senses are very limited. We understand this. It doesn’t take much education. You don’t have to follow the science very far to understand that our hearing is limited, that dogs can hear ranges of things that we can’t hear.
That our sight is limited, that there are other parts of God’s creation that have vision that’s better than ours. That while we have five senses, it would be nonsense to imagine that those five senses determine reality. Those are just the receptors with which we can engage the world. And while we acknowledge their limits, it seems that we’re reluctant to acknowledge that they truly are limited. But if you live your life only on the level of your five senses, you lead a very diminished life. You do. And the Bible invites us to an imagination, an awareness, a reality that there’s a dimension beyond our five senses. Now that shouldn’t offend you. You understand that already. You believe that a virus can impact your life. We allowed one to completely disrupt our nation for more than a year and you can’t see a virus without some extraordinary help and amplification.
Well, in the same way, I’m suggesting that what the Bible tells us repeatedly, it’s not like some subtle theme, it’s the story from the beginning to the end. That there is another dimension that’s more powerful, that is more real. In fact, the present dimension that we are essentially connected to is temporary. It has an ending point. One of the features of the scripture is that it’s linear. There’s a beginning point and a conclusion point. The Bible opens with «In the beginning». It’s not the original creation. In the beginning when the Bible opens, the earth was void and without shape. It doesn’t tell us how that void shapeless thing started. It just tells us how God reordered it.
And then there’s an ending point, and we get a new heaven and a new earth with a whole new set of ground rules. It says, «There’ll be no more crying or mourning or tears or pain for that old order of things will have passed away». But for the moment, we are creatures of time and the way that we engage with the world in time is through those five senses. I’m asking you to begin to open your heart, your mind, and your imagination to another dimension more powerful than this present world order. Again, this is very biblical stuff. There’s so much scripture. I had to make it so tiny you probably can’t read it. And we’ll spend a few sessions walking our way through this, but the church really has to be willing to lead this discussion.
We’re watching a dizzying pace of change in our nation right now that’s been initiated at a political level and well, much of it I think is a great blessing and certainly seems to bode well for our future. I would submit to you that it’s impossible to sustain unless there was a corresponding or greater change amongst the people of God. And I’m not sure we’ve awakened to that fully yet. We think change can be initiated in another way, but the true forces, the true power that shapes our lives is not political, it’s spiritual.
The church is intended, I would submit to you, to influence culture. We invite one another and others to a way of life that elevates humanity. That’s why we call it good news. It affords freedom from the things which would diminish human life. The Word of God and that spiritual journey that’s available to us in Christ, introduces us to the reality of spiritual influences, both good and bad. The churches, we’ve kind of like, you know, we’ve kind of put our fingers in our ears and hummed when that comes up. We just don’t like to think about that, but there are spiritual influences that are destructive. The Bible invites us to believe and understand that there is a God, that he can be known, and that you’re important to him.
Now that’s a bizarre, it’s an amazing statement. That there is a God, a creator of all things, and that you matter to him, that he knows you. You know, you play this game with me and I don’t appreciate it. I’ll bump into you, some of you in the community, maybe it’s a place where you’re employed and you have a name badge. You’ll cover your name badge and go, «Who am I»? I can tell you who you are, you’re mean. I’ll play that game with you if you could stand up and name everybody that’s seated in the section of cherish where you are this morning. But I have an announcement to make. God not only knows your name, he knows how many hairs are on your head. Spoiler alert, he knows your thoughts. And he doesn’t take days off. He knows you. It’s unimaginable. You matter to him.
Now tragically in the church in my lifetime at least, it seems that we have exchanged a glorious assignment from the Creator for this mistaken role of being a unifier. We’re not necessarily advocates for the truth. We’re not ambassadors for the kingdom of God. We’ve chosen another role. We’ve accepted another assignment and I don’t believe it was handed to us by the Spirit of God. We think we should be unifiers. Above all, it seems to me that much of the contemporary church strives to bring unity to a world that’s filled with disparate, wildly varying perspectives. Rather than hold out the truth, we want to do a comparative studies class and find truth in all things and deny the uniqueness of Jesus.
Just for clarity’s sake, from the scripture, there is no unity between light and dark. And to seek to establish it, you have to oppose the kingdom of God. The church as a global unifier is a fool’s errand. We can be unified under the authority of Jesus of Nazareth, but we can’t diminish the uniqueness of Jesus or the Lordship of Jesus in order to establish unity, or it’s a false gospel. I read a quote by Reagan and I thought it was interesting. You know the biblical analogies that we’ve been called out of this world, not to blend in, to be separate. It’s what Ecclesia means, it’s what the church is about to be separate from the world. And it’s an uncomfortable place a lot of times. It makes you unique. You’re standing outside the group.
And this quote seemed appropriate. It says, «If some among you fear taking a stand because you’re afraid of reprisals from customers, clients, or even government, recognize that you’re just feeding the crocodile hoping he’ll eat you last». Seems to me we’ve been busy with that for far too long. So, I wanna invite you into this conversation, this discussion, we spend some time thinking about angels and demons and you. It’s the «and you» part that matters. We wouldn’t have any objections if we just did a seminar on angels and demons and we could all share our opinions and what we feel or what we think. But if we use the Word of God as our authority and say that angels and demons and those spiritual forces of good and evil are impacting you today, now we begin to become a bit more reluctant.
Well. But I have an announcement, whether you’re conscious of it or not today, spiritual forces have already exerted an influence on your life. I promise you. Without question, we’re gonna explore this in some detail. We’re gonna talk about angels, ministering spirits, messengers. We’re gonna watch the invitation of scripture to move between dimensions, into time in the physical world as well into eternity in the spiritual world because angels are not creatures of time. They don’t have an expiration date like you and I do.
Our earth suit, you’re born with an expiration date just like the stuff you buy at the store. Isn’t that awkward? But the invitation is not to be surprised by that, but get ready so that you’re not diminished by that exploration, that you’re actually, your journey through time is enhanced because there’s something better than the current difficulties of this present world order awaiting us. And we’re invited to participate. That’s the good news of the Gospel. We have this backwards approach like Jesus is trying to take something away from us. He wants to diminish our joy or our happiness or the fullness of our experience and that ungodliness is a whole lot better. No, it’s a lie.
So, let’s start with Jesus. And I’m gonna suggest to you that we know Jesus before we get to the stable in Bethlehem. We certainly know Jesus in time, but there are pre-incarnate appearances of Jesus in the scripture. The incarnation, fancy word for when Jesus was born amongst us. He put on an earth suit and walked amongst us. We call that the incarnation. So, there are pre, before the incarnation, appearances of Jesus in the scripture. He existed before Bethlehem. He existed before Gabriel visited Mary in Nazareth and said, «You’re gonna conceive a son». I’ll brush you one example. It’s in John chapter 8. Jesus is speaking.
So, he’s the authority, but he’s talking about someone who lived thousands of years prior to his birth that knew him. Well you couldn’t have known him if he’d never existed. John 8:56, «Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad». They said to him, «'You’re not yet fifty years old, and how have you seen Abraham! ' And Jesus said, and he says, 'I tell you the truth, '» you know what that means, right? Truth bomb. He’s about to fracture their perspectives. Should I tell you the truth, «Before Abraham was born, I am».
I can walk you through a whole list of places prior to Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem where he stepped into human history. And then we have this most remarkable scene that after Jesus’s crucifixion, after his physical death on the cross, verified by the Roman soldiers whose very lives depended upon it being an accurate diagnosis. After his physical death on the cross, Jesus was raised to life again and appeared to many people who testified about it. Post resurrection appearances of Jesus. If you’re keeping track, that’s the whole Easter stuff. There are multiple places in the New Testament where a post ascension, after Jesus ascended to heaven, he appears and interacts with human beings in time.
Again, there’s this dimensional reality where spiritual forces impact our lives in time, our journey through this sense-oriented world, but they’re truly anchored in another dimension that isn’t limited by time. «Wait a minute, pastor, I just wanna go to heaven». What’s that mean to you? Do you truly believe there’s a kingdom of God that exists beyond this current realm? Do you believe that it’s a better place than you are right now? If you do, you’ll amend your behavior so that you do everything human possibly that somehow you might attain to the resurrection of the dead. That’s Paul’s language, not mine. See, we’re pretty casual. It’s like, «Tell me the minimal daily recording. What do I have to do? What do I have to say? Where do I need to stand, one foot?
So, I need to put my left foot in. My left foot out. Tell me what I need to do». It’s like the minute, «How much broccoli do I have to eat? How often do I have to come to church? Let’s negotiate. How often do I have to come? But by my calculation, about one sermon in four is passable. So, there’s three I’m not responsible for. So, if I come every fourth month and we line it up just right, is that enough? How much do I have to serve? You know, if I come at Easter, that’s a big crowd. I have to park like farther away. Can I just call that service that I have to park farther away? How much do I have to give? You know, the government takes out of my check anyway. Can I just say I give to the government and call that even»?
You know, we barter with God as if he’s like this baleful intrusion into our world. We don’t live like that other dimension is real very often. I’m not really trying to chastise you. I want us to reconcile our behavior with what we say. I wanna look with you at a couple of post ascension appearances of Jesus. In Acts chapter 9, we’ve been introduced to Saul of Tarsus. He’s a Pharisee. He hates people who say Jesus is the Messiah. He’s looking for men, women to put them in prison. He’s an equal opportunity thug with some really good religious credentials and he’s on his way to Damascus. He’s been so effective in Jerusalem. He’s going to Damascus to look for some people he can bring back bound in chains. He’s trying to build a resume that will put him to the head of the charts with the pharisees. It’s in your notes.
It’s Acts 9, it says, «As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And he fell to the ground and he heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, why do you persecute me? ' And he said, 'Who are you, Lord? ' And he said, 'I’m Jesus, whom you’re persecuting.'» Well this is Acts, same author, same narrative. He’s telling you a story in Acts chapter one, Jesus ascended back to heaven. But in Acts chapter 9, Jesus is on the road to Damascus doing an intervention with one Saul of Tarsus. Identifying himself by name, he has stepped back into time. He still does. That’s another lesson. Jesus goes on from there. He gets Paul’s attention. He goes on ahead of him into Damascus. He needs to recruit somebody to go minister. This intrigues me.
You’re thinking, «Why wouldn’t Jesus just close the circle, done the whole deal. He’s got Saul’s attention. His face is in the dirt. Why not tell him what he needs to know? Straighten him out»? He said, «Now when you get up, your vision’s gonna be a little impaired. You wait for instructions». Now we got, «I don’t like that. I don’t like waiting for instructions,» right? «I’m on a need to know basis and I think I need to know everything right now». And this notion of following the Lord, that still chafes a little bit, doesn’t it? Not you? Maybe you’re not following very closely. I mean, but he doesn’t give him the whole story. I mean, it really gives me a bit of pause. This is intriguing to me.
Now Jesus goes to see Ananias. It’s there in your notes. I’m not really making this up. It’s verse 10. «In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision,» well he just called to Saul on the road to Damascus. Now he’s in Damascus messing with Ananias. «And he answered, 'Yes, Lord.' The Lord said, 'Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he’s praying.'» I left it out just for the sake of brevity, but Ananias says, «Oh, no. Have you seen that guy’s social media posts? He hates people like me. There’s no way I’m gonna go knock on his door and you’re a long way away». You’ve been gone a while. That was way back in Acts one. Let me catch you up. He’s a bad man.
«Ananias, I need you to go pray for him». It’s right there. «Ananias went to the house and entered it, placed his hands on Saul, and he said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.'» All of that interaction with Saul of Tarsus and Ananias, the loss of his vision and the restoration of his vision are all physical impacts that originate in a dimension beyond the one we contact with our physical senses. Biblical?
So, imagine the foolishness, the naivety of Christians getting together and saying, «Let’s have a seminar on whether or not God still does miracles». I always think, «Well, you know, I just don’t know how I feel about that». How I feel about it is secondary. I override my feelings frequently. I don’t feel like going to work. Shut up and go anyway. I don’t feel like saying no to dessert. Shut up and say no. But I’d really like that third package of Oreos. Hush. Revelation chapter 1, we’re still in the New Testament if you’re tracking. This is John, the apostle closest to Jesus, «On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,» that’s an interesting passage. «On the Lord’s Day I was in the spirit».
John could have missed the entire invitation that is the book of Revelation if he hadn’t been in the spirit on the Lord’s Day. In the spirit on the Lord’s Day. Suppose he said, «It’s the weekend, this is my time for recreation». Am I meddling yet? I’m trying. You know, I don’t think we’re bound by a specific day of the week any longer, but I do believe we’re bound by the idea that there’s a day that belongs to the Lord. It’s not our day. To be in the spirit on the Lord’s Day. We think we’ve accomplished something of tremendous significance if we just get in the church or on the stream. And I’m grateful for all of those things. I’m not opposed to them, but we have diminished this. We have dumbed this down. We’ve removed this so far.
We don’t want God to be intrusive or disruptive or, you know, we don’t want it to be inconvenient. To be in the spirit on the Lord’s Day requires a time and attention and a focus of thought and a willingness to yield to the spirit of God and to not be distracted with extraneous, lots of things that come with that. «On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet. It said, 'Write on a scroll what you see and send it to these churches.' And I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned. I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone 'like a son of man, ' and he was dressed in a robe that reached down to his feet with a golden sash. And his head and his hair were white, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. And His face was like the sun».
Who did you see? Jesus. He saw Jesus. John’s an old man in the book of Revelation. He’s recruited most likely as a teenager. He spent the strength of his youth as an ambassador for Jesus from the cross. Jesus looked down at John and gave him an assignment to care for Mary, his mother. John’s peer group have all been martyred by this point. They’re all gone. He’s been arrested and imprisoned. He’s on an island where they mined copper, more than likely doing hard labor as hard of labor as he’s capable of at this point in his life. He’s isolated and he’s alone. His time with Jesus has receded into his memory. You have to have enough birthdays to understand how close those memories stay.
And on the Lord’s Day, he’s in the spirit and he hears a voice behind him. And when he turns around, it’s his best friend. Jesus is back in time. Not going backwards in time, he has returned to time. He stepped into a dimension where John can experience him. Again. Watch John’s response, «I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me,» so it’s not just some ethereal vision. Touch is a part of this experience. «He placed his right hand on me and said: 'Don’t be afraid. I’m the First and the Last. I’m the Living One; I was dead, and behold I’m alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and hell.'»
Now we call ourselves Christ followers. It’s what Christian means. And I’m just casually really trying to point out to you that Jesus existed prior to his birth, that he walked this earth in an earth suit like us, subject to all the frailty and vagaries that come with the physical condition. Weariness and agitation and frustration and fear, he experienced the entire gamut. He was tortured to death in public, buried in a very public way, and raised to life for many people, dozens of people witnessed it. He ascended back to heaven, but he was seen back in time on multiple occasions. So, we know Jesus interacting with humanity prior to his birth, during his life, and afterwards. So, you shouldn’t imagine yourselves a Christ follower and then say, «Well, you know, I don’t know how I feel about all this spiritual stuff,» because if it’s not true, Jesus is a hoax and I don’t believe that.
I wanna take a minute to pray before we go.
Father, I thank you that you love us. I thank you that you that in your great mercy and compassion, you have made a way for us to be at peace with the Creator of all things. That you’re not angry with us, that you are not resentful of us, that you have welcomed us into your kingdom and made peace with us through Jesus Christ. I thank you for that today. Nothing’s hidden from you, no part of our past, no thought within us, and yet you love us. May that love grow in us every day and bring a boldness and a courage within us to face the challenges before us in Jesus’s name, amen.