In announcing this title, I am not trying to just be cute, or different, but to use it as a hook, to hang some truth on for us today…. If you can go out of here connecting what I want to share with UFO’s then the UFO’s won’t be what it’s all about, but what it’s connected to….
Billions of dollars and massive time and energy have been invested to discover if we are alone in the Universe. Every year thousands of sightings are reported and like the illusive Big Foot, conclusive proof continues to remain in the realm of fantasy.
In June 11th, 1982, Universal Pictures, released the movie E.T. In one weekend it had 12 million in viewer sales, and was an immediate Blockbuster. It generated 435 million dollars and surpassed Star Wars, to become the highest grossing film of all time, at that time.
That kind of turnout reflects the tremendous interest in alien visitation, UFO’s and the big question…. “Are we alone, in the universe”?
Who could forget those Star-Trek years – as CAPTAIN JAMES KIRK of the USS STARSHIP ENTERPRISE, spent his whole career dealing with Aliens. And of course there is Luke Skywalker, Princess Leah, and Hans Solo, in Star Wars, as they cooperated with and fought some pretty weird extra-terrestrial life forms….
There are nights when I have looked up at the Milky Way band which we are embedded in, containing 400 billion stars, each with planets circling them, and wondered what it would be like to be abducted by a UFO and taken to their planet and be the first to share the gospel with their kind…. (WOAH….. REEL IT IN MAN)
By now, some of you are seriously weighing the credibility of your pastor, but take a deep breath, and relax because UFO’s and alien visitations and even alien abductions have happened all through the bible…. As a matter of fact, all of us should expect these things to happen in the coming year…The UFO’S I’m talking about are
“Unbelievably Fantastic Opportunities”
Going all the way back to the creation, In Genesis 3:8 indicates that
Adam and Eve had an alien visitation every day….God walked daily in the garden and taught them, and fellowshipped with them….
We used to sing a song that kind of takes this for granted in our time…check out the lyrics… “And He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known. He speaks and the sound of His voice, all the birds hush their singing, and the melody that He gave to me, within my heart it’s ringing….”
God walked with Enoch and one day they just kept walking, and Enoch didn’t stop until he flew right by death and arrived in heaven. His legacy is “That he walked with God”
Elijah was abducted by God in a fiery UFO, and did not see natural death, but passed from life into life… these two men, Enoch and Elijah are a dress rehearsal for the great resurrection morning when all the righteous will find their way to their true eternal home.
Methuselah walked with God 969 years and died the year of the flood. We don’t know all the adventures he and God had….Methuselah was alive when Adam was alive and he was still alive when Noah built the ark….These were incredible men and knew God in a special way!
Genesis 32:30, we read that Jacob saw God: “So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, ‘For I have seen God face to face…” Jacob also saw alien beings called angels ascending and descending from heaven.
Genesis 19 Abraham entertained angels, who stopped by his home to tell him that they were on their way to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham negotiates with them to save his nephew Lot….
Exodus 33:11 “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend”.
Jesus showed up in the fiery furnace with the Hebrew children and they could not be burned….And it’s not just ancient history….
I have heard countless stories of Jesus showing up in hospital rooms, in prisons, and homes in Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Nazi populations.
During the six day war, when the Jewish people took back Jerusalem, there are countless accounts of Arab armies seeing 10-12 foot angels fighting for the Jews….The aliens showed up!
Tell someone… “You can always count on Jesus showing up.”!
The children were doing a reenactment of Jesus triumphant entry, but because of a sore throat, 5-year-old Annie stayed home from church with her mother. When the rest of the family returned home, they were carrying palm fronds. Annie asked them what they were for. Her father said, honey, “People held them over Jesus’ head as he rode by on a colt,”
“Well, wouldn’t you know it,” Annie grumbled, “the one Sunday I’m sick and Jesus shows up and offers pony rides!”
We’re talking about aliens, and I am looking at aliens right now as I face you in this room (you’re not scary at all) The Apostle Peter says we are strangers and aliens. 1 Peter 2:11-12 “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among this world that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God in the day he visits us”.
We who are Christians are called to serve an alien entity, who came to earth 2000 years ago, to show us how to fight evil alien forces which also came to kill, steal and destroy.
Before the foundation of the earth, his coming was planned… before the heavenly rebellion, before mankind, before sin, before all of that, the visitation was put in place.
So, understanding this…. We then realize that it is all spelled out in the original Star Wars trilogy…..not Spielberg’s version, but the version we find in Ephesians 6: 10 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit (the alien tongue) on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people”.
MAY THE REAL FORCE BE WITH YOU!!!
The old song says --- “This world is not my home; I’m just a passing through, my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore….” If you are a Christian, you are not a permanent resident here… Jesus called us to live like aliens—to fix our minds on radically different priorities. Your ultimate allegiance is in heaven, your citizenship is there, You are an Alien and a stranger… All Believers in Christ are aliens in this world. It’s difficult for us to fit into a world that is out of touch with the values, and principles of our home land….That’s what our struggles are mostly about. Because we are in the world but not of the world. We are just passing through… call it pilgrims, sojourners, pioneers, way markers, or aliens. We speak another language…. The bible…. We meditate on it, we decree it’s truths, we pray it, we teach it, we memorize it, we live it!!!! And, I am glad today to be an ALIEN FROM ANOTHER WORLD, How about you!
I love the sci-fi movies where those who are aliens have special powers… THAT’S US AS WELL!!!
The head alien (Jesus) endued us with power from the home land…. He said as I have overcome the world, you shall overcome also in my name. He said “The things I have done you shall do also in My name”… He actually bestowed on us these powers saying…. Matthew 10:7 “As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ v8 and Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse all kinds of diseases, castout demons. (KA POW) Freely you have received, freely give”,
He even gave us power over the grave, saying “because I live you shall live also”
What a great tragedy it is when a believer throws away his faith and hope in the amazing future world that we have been promised,and renounces his citizenship there, and lives for "this present world." John said it well, “The world is passing away and its desires, but the one who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:17)
I want to stir you up to use the means God has given you to maintain your alien identity in a world constantly pressing you into its mold.
If you lose money you’ve lost something needed. If you’ve lost a friend you’ve lost more. But if you lose your identity, you’ve lostthe most important thing of all.
In some ways we can judge the invisible things by the visable… (by their fruit you shall know them) Here’s an interesting measurement of our claim to the lordship of Christ….. 1 John 4:20 says, "If anyone says I love God and yet hates his brother, he is a liar, for anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen."
I heard that a Pastor and his board chairman got in a heated argument over a detail in the building program. The pastor, being diplomatic, said “I suggest we go home and pray to God to grant us peaceful hearts”, as the chairman stormed past him into the churchyard. *……After worship the next Sunday morning, hegreeted the Pastor warmly, saying, “I took your advice, and I went home and said a prayer.” “Great!” said the Pastor. “So did I! I prayed that God would grant us both peaceful hearts and a fresh start.” “Well”….The chairman said, “That’s not what I prayed, I asked God to give me patience to tolerate you.” (He was almost, but not quite there)
So, love fervently…. Give cheerfully….Pray earnestly…. Believe intensely. Seek Him unceasingly…..Know who you are….Live out the Word….Never settle for less…..Make each day count…..Know where you’re going…..Know Jesus more, and more, and more…
We know that being a Christian begins with a supernatural act. That means it is not of this world. (beam me up Scotty) If we could do it, Christ would not have come. We could make the leap ourselves. Salvation is an action which is of another realm…. Jesus taught his disciples to pray “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).
This work which is activated in us and joins us to the realms of heaven, enters us to make us part of the supernatural realm. We are granted full citizenship, full participation, access to Divine counsel, power over Satanic intruders, permission and authority to act in God’s behalf, the right to speak His word as though He were speaking, and the ability to live forever….
Colossians 1:12-13 “He [God] has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,” In the summer of 1805, some Indian chiefs and warriors met in council at Buffalo Creek, New York to hear a presentation of the Christian message from the Boston Missionary Society. After the sermon, Chief Red Jacket responded, “Brother, we are told that you have been preaching to the white people in this area. These people are our neighbors. We are well acquainted with them. We will wait a little while and see what effect your preaching has upon them. If we find it does them good, makes them honest and less prone to cheat the Indians, we will then consider again what you have said.” Well, we know how that went…. It’s a wonder that any Indians ever received the gospel….
Unless you have had a supernatural act, done in your life from another realm, (we call it salvation) you will find it impossible tolive the kind of life the bible calls supernatural, it’s the will of God in us, as we journey through this world.
It all starts, with receiving Him as savior, then take the next step and receive Him as your Lord and master. Both steps are necessary. The first is instant, the second, we walk out daily as we grow and learn through His word, which is our manual for this pilgrim life. John 17:16 “You are not of the world, even as I am not of the world”
John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, the world hates you as it hated me”.
You’ve made him your savior, but have you taken the second step, and made him your Lord and master….
One day, the disciples were telling Jesus what the people around them were saying about him… One by one they chimed in, then Jesus asked them the most important question of all…”Who do you say I am”…. God makes this thing personal, and unavoidable….
Daniel in the lion’s den wouldn’t have survived if he didn’t know beyond a doubt who He was…I think of Paul in prison, when the jail burst open and they were set free… It was because they were sure and completely confident who they were…. Then there’s Peter, saying to the lame man, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." They knew who they were!
An old man with a cane hobbled with great difficulty through the hallway and into the pastor’s office and passed the women who were having their prayer meeting in an adjacent room. He was bent over and obviously in great pain.
Twenty minutes later he came out, walking upright and moving with grace and speed. “Praise the Lord, some of the ladies shouted, that’s wonderful that the pastor prayed for you and you were healed.” “Well you’re close,” the old man told them. “What the pastor did, was to give me a new cane. Mine was six inches too short!”
The pastor gave him something better to lean on! That’s what God wants all of us to have… something better to lean on… Hallelujah, He’s our blessed assurance… Our strong foundation… A shelter in the time of storm… Peace that passes all understanding… Our shield and fortress… A mighty tower which we can run into…. A safe place… The rock that won’t roll… Our standard bearer… Our deliverer and lifter of our head….He’s theeverlasting arms… our comforter…. Faithful friend… our healer… helper in time of need… Justice and truth… Our keeper and confidence… Our reason and hope….Eternal lover… Master and King….
And it’s about making Him Lord and Master…. I need all of that… how about you….
Would you take a moment as we close and crown Him Lord and King in your life this morning before we leave this place.
Let’s pray…. Lord Jesus, I declare and establish that You are the Christ, my Great King, my Good Shepherd, my Only Master, my Helper, my sustainer, my Priest and intercessor before the Father, my True Light, my Truth, my Way and the Light of my life, my Wisdom, and my Everlasting Salvation. I give You my heart and I ask you to take me, and use me as Your servant to spread Your mercy, grace and love to my world. I ask the Holy Spirit to make me more like You. I want to give You a central place in my heart, and I ask that you would teach me Your ways, that I might walk in Your will and plan for my life. May I always hunger and thirst after you, as I deal with all the issues of my life. Let Your words fill my spirit, my thoughts and my mouth as I speak with wisdom and truth. Lord, I desire to honor You in thought, in word, and in deedas once again, I commit myself unto you, as my Lord and my Master. I pray this for Your honor and glory, In Your glorious name, amen.
He gives us something better to lean on! When the world seems all wrong, when it looks like it can’t be fixed, when everyone has turned against you, Yes, we have something better to lean upon and He won’t let us down!
