You Are Gods

Many of you may have seen a movie from a few decades ago. It starred Robert Duvall. The movie was based upon a true story about the author's father who was in the military. The movie was called The Great Santini. It was also nominated for an Oscar for that. I don't know if many of you, if you were in the military, you might remember that that movie, but it was about Bo Meacham. It was a character's name. He was a fighter pilot and he trained other pilots. In his opening, or one of the opening scenes of him addressing the men he was training, he told them he knew everything. There wasn't one thing he didn't know. He had experienced everything and they could ask him and they could find out anything they needed to know about their job, about life, about anything, about everything. As a matter of fact, he remembered the classic line. He says, yes, I know that may sound a lot to you, but you might just think of me as not only your teacher, but maybe God.

That was his own thoughts about himself. Perhaps you remember the movie you might remember that. Well, the title of my sermon are You Are Gods. Great expectations, wouldn't you say? Great expectations to think of us ourselves as gods. Blasphemous, you might say, but Jesus said it. Did he not? He addressed the people of his day and told them, you are gods. He quoted it. And you see, it's unique because he was God. He was a God in the flesh. So let's go, if you will, go with me to John 10.

And look at that very scripture. John 10. Verse 34 said, Jesus answered them and said, is it not written in your law? I said, you are gods. Go up to verse 30. As it says, I am my father, or one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, many good works I have shown you from my father. For which of these works do you stone me? The Jews answered and said, for a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy. And because you, being a man, make yourself God. And then we come to verse 34. You are gods. It's written in scripture. It's actually taken from Psalm 82, verse 6, if you want to read it. Imagine Christ growing up as a child. I know how they do now or how they did when I was in school. I remember in the second grade, the teacher asked everyone went around the room to say, what do you want to be when you grow up? Can you imagine Jesus saying, well, God? Can you imagine yourself saying that? Hmm. I bring that up because a major, major doctrinal difference than 99% of all of Christianity professing Christianity, they have a problem with us becoming gods. It just sounds. It sounds even to some people in the church. Well, I don't know that I would put it that way. Oh yeah? Well, what way would you put it? Because that's the way Christ put it. That's the way the Word put it in the Old Testament. And it is something we need to think about. But you see, they would have a problem in Christianity. I've answered that question a few times and people have called me and said, do you really think you're going to become a god? Because the church across the Latter-day Saints believe there's a path that way. They're one of the few that do besides the Buddhist and various Kabbalah. But they do not view it as we view it. The whole Trinity sham, scam, heresy is just that in the Bible. It doesn't really exist. And part of the Trinity problem is that there are only three and there will only be three in the God family or that round, that triangle that they put. But that's not what the Bible teaches. I can prove my belief in becoming a god. Yes, and so I will say it. That camera is on me. I will, if I can follow my destiny, I will become a god. I'm definitely not a god now. I'm a god in training, as all of you. That, on the internet, would probably be taken down because that seems just way too much. It's too much for the Jews at the time who had the oracles of God. It's like, how dare you do that? They were picking up stones to stone. And many religions would do it today because they don't know the word of God.

Yes, I am a member of the God family. Are you? Are you? I see a few heads shaking. There's a few, so there must be doubt. I'm glad I'm giving this sermon then because I don't want you to be shocked when you become a god.

You may go, oh, wait a minute. Me? Well, I'm just going to teach from the Bible because I can't teach anything else. I don't teach from our booklets. I don't teach from our magazines. I teach strictly from the Bible. It's how I know I'm always correct. Because God is always correct. As long as I stick with his words, I'm fine.

I, Chuck Smith, and she, Mary Smith, will not become an angel.

Because becoming an angel is not in Scripture. Nowhere is it in Scripture. You can't find it.

Now, I will tell you what's in here that a god can become an angel. Or that's what is called in the Old Testament, where Jesus Christ appeared as an angel. As a matter of fact, you'll know it because the word angel is capitalized when they realize what it is. Because he came as a messenger. But man's destiny is not to become an angel. We have been indoctrinated. How about you? You want to be a little angel? Or you want to be a big angel? I don't want to be any angel because it's not in here. And if you say, I want to be an angel, I must say from the Bible, you set the bar pretty low. Because that's not what God's destiny is for each and every one of us. Now, we have been taught, trained. We had a TV show called Highway to Heaven. Anybody remember that? It was Michael Landon and Victor French, I think, was in it. And it was on for five years. So people didn't stone anybody there because you'd be an angel because people accepted an angel. And even though there were good points to the show, because I saw the show a few times, and they were there. This angel was sent down by God. He was a human who died, and then God made him an angel, and his job was to go back and help people. Well, angels are ministering what? Yes. So that part is right, and he would try to and show good things in the show. And so I must say it was better than a lot of violence, but it wasn't true. Man's destiny is not become an angel and come down here and help us for pitiful souls. Then there was the show Touched by an Angel. Anybody see that? I never saw one show. I don't know why it was on Friday nights, and probably not because many of you watched it. And I read about it, but it was about three angels sent down to try to help people in their lives or whatever. And you know, it probably had good a message. That's why people liked it. It was on for nine years. So it was pretty much accepted. You're on for nine years every week. People are, yes, there's something to that. Wow! I hope because I've been asked that question many times.

Is there an angel looking down now? Or what are they thinking? Can they hear me? There was a movie many years ago. And in the movie, there was an angel that came down, and he was totally messed up. Angel. His name was Clarence. And that show is about to come on like it does every single year.

It's played many, many times. It's a wonderful life. And it has a very good message, doesn't it? And it has a purpose and so forth. Why do you see it every year? Do you know why they play it? Yes, it does have Christmas. Why do you see it many more times than anything else? Do you know why? It's free. It's free. They don't have to pay any royalties or anything to anyone in that movie for the movie.

So if I wanted to show it right here, I could show it and charge people. It wouldn't be a thing. That's one of the reasons you see it. It was put in as one of the things they didn't want to apply for a license so everybody could see it. They didn't know if it would even be a success.

Thought it would be a failure. So they didn't worry about it, but they wanted the message to come through. Well, the message was that this angel Clarence came down and tried to help people. Tried to help this George Bailey, I think was his name, who was about to commit suicide. And he saved him from it. And then it shows the whole story.

And it was a really good story. Except it's a lie. It's all a lie. There's no truth to that, but yet they have people thinking. Four years. I think this movie was 1940-something. And people still watching it still think about the angel. I think there's another one. A remake of with Denzel Washington, the bishop's wife, or whatever about another angel.

I don't know if any of you see, but there there are multiple stories. And people just think, oh, that's so good. That's so sweet. But they don't say that's such a lie. That's such a sad state of affairs. And today we even have movies of superheroes like Superman and Thor or whatever they are who are the only thing that the human race can count on because we're going to destroy ourselves. Our evil is going to come in and nobody's going to save us except some super person.

That's a lie. It's a total lie. So I can prove our God doctrine. As a matter of fact, I call it the destiny doctrine. And I can prove it from the Bible that your destiny is to be a God.

So let's go. Let's go to the word of God. I have 27 minutes to make my point now. So let's go with take a journey through the Bible very quickly. I think I can do it pretty quickly. Being I know most of these. So I'm here to convince you that if you want to be an angel, you're in the wrong room.

You want to be a God. You're in the right room. So let's go there. For those watching on the Internet and watching this because David will put it on. Unless he doesn't believe it, we'll put it on tonight or tomorrow. Genesis 1 and verse 26 says what? We all know it.

Let us make man in our image. And angels? No! At the very first he says what? Very first book, very first chapter. Let us make man in our image according to our. Wow. So we're not made in the angels image, but we're physically made in God's image. Just for the fun of it, just so he can go, I have little mini-me's running around. No, no. As a matter of fact, go with me to Psalm. Psalm 17. Psalm 17 verse 15. This is David. David understood this from the New King James Version.

He said, as for me, I will see your face in righteousness. I will be satisfied when I awake in the likeness of an angel. That's not what it says. In your likeness, he's talking to God. We're going to be like God, likeness of God. Amazing. And besides, what does it say in Romans 6, 23? That's a memory scripture. Well, he just sent his death, but the gift of God is he living forever. Sounds like a God to me.

Wow. Go with me then to Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. And in verse 29, he said, For whom he foreknew you, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. Oh, his son who?

Jesus the Christ. Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. So he's saying he foreknew us, who he's going to call, predestined to be conformed. Okay, we have the chance. We have the ability. He is going to give us the ability to become in the image of his son that he might be the first one, a bung, what?

Two or three. Many brethren. There's going to be many gods. Well, you're teaching polytheism. Huh. You're no better than those Greeks. Yes, in the future, there will be many gods. The Bible says so. Is there many gods right now? Are there many gods? No, it's just two. Part of the God family, the father and the son.

But he is waiting for the revealing of the sons of God. He says it many times. That's why I'm covering this because some people don't want to say it, but it's crystal clear. It's plain as can be from the Bible. Verse 30. Moreover, when he predestined these, you, you're predestined to be in his kingdom. You're predestined to be called. You can mess it up if you want. He doesn't plan that. Those of you, these he also called. Whom he called, these he also justified, and whom he justified, these he also, what? Glorified. They're going to be glorified when Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are raised, when David is raised.

David understood that. We saw that in Psalm. It's going to be in his likeness. What's God like? Anybody want to tell me? Like God? He's God. He's like God. There is no other like him except when the sons of God, daughters of God, are revealed, are made. We're made physically in his image. We're going to be made spiritually in his image. It doesn't take brains to figure out what God is doing. Just read the story without being prejudiced from what some religious sect says about it. From, and I'm taking you from Genesis to Revelation, the same story, the same tale, the same promise.

Everything is the same. Go with me. Go with me to 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15. Verse 49. What does it say? And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we were made from dust, right? That's what he said. But we're made in his image. We shall also bear the image of the heavenly man.

Who's the heavenly man? Who's the only man that ascended into heaven? He even said it. Elijah's not up there. Okay? Moses is not up there. My father's not up there. They're waiting. They're waiting for that time. Go with me to Hebrews. I always love this part. Hebrews 2. Let's go to verse 6. He said, But one testified in a certain place, saying, What is man that thou shalt be mindful of him?

We just heard that, right, Jonathan? Oh, from Psalm 8. Okay. What is man that thou shalt be mindful of him? Or the son of man that you take care of him? He's quoting from Psalm 8, 4-6. And it said, You have made him a little lower than thee. What's it say? Well, that's wrong. That's wrong. Matter of fact, any commentary will tell you it's wrong.

It's translated wrong. They just didn't know how to deal with it. Because the word is Elohim. You have made him a little lower than the gods.

plural, Elohim, God and the Father, God and the Word. You've made man a little lower. But see, they couldn't grasp that. So they need change. But if you go to a lot of modern translations, they have it in the margin, or they even change it than the gods. I think the new living translation may even say that. You have made him a little lower than the gods. Mankind is a greater creation than the angels, brethren. Man can't handle that because the angels, which of them did I say sit at my right hand? No, the angels weren't promised that. Mankind has been promised that very thing. Let me go on here. You've made him a little lower than the gods. Elohim, you have crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of his hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put in all subjection under him. He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not see all the things that put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels. What? Why would he say? Didn't I just say that we were made above the angels? Yes. Am I wrong? No, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death. That is what it's about. Christ didn't he didn't have to die, but it was his plan from the foundations of the world that he would die for these former gods for the future gods that would exist. That's what he did. He's willing. He could have had the angels. What did he what did he tell? I can call leeches of angels and it wipe all you out. They have that power. But no, I'm doing this for not for the angels, but for mankind. What an incredible story. For the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor that he, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. Wasn't below angels. Angels work for him. And if we truly understand, we can understand. Angels work for you, too. That's why we need to call on them more. Ministering spirits. OK, messengers. We need something. I mean, it's crystal clear all through the Bible. Do they have power? We don't have in spiritual realm. Absolutely. But that power is. We have access to that power. All we need to say, Father, take care of this.

And many times he has, and we don't even know it. Well, you'll hear incredible stories, won't you? Incredible stories. Verse 10. For it is fitting for him for whom all things and by whom are all things in bringing Wow. Many sons to glory. Many sons to glory. We're going to be glorified. And one of the things about glory, if you look up the original Hebrew and it means and enlightened, it means honored, and it means this, but it also worthy of worship. Whoa. Thought we weren't supposed to do that. We're not except to God. But let's go on. All things in bringing many sons to glory to make the captain of our salvation perfect through suffering. Both he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren, brothers and sisters because of Jesus Christ. He is our elder brother. We're family. We just don't use it enough, and he wants us to. Huh. Let's go to 2 Peter. 2 Peter. 2 Peter 1. To prove my point. 2 Peter 1 and verse 2. He said, Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of our Lord, of Jesus our Lord as his divine power. What? As his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue, by which you, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of divine nature, partakers of the divine nature, the very nature of God, the perfect nature of God. It says that's why all this was about. That's why Jesus Christ came here so that we could be partakers of the divine nature.

Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust, he's given us this power. He's letting us be partakers of his very nature, the very nature of God. And you know when we have the nature of God, you know what we do? We act like God. You know why we act like God? Because we see the example that God gave. We have three and a half years stories by four different guys telling us how he lived, what his very nature was, and God says, good, here you go. Go and do likewise. That is what he wants from us. Because we can have that nature because his spirit is in us. Let's go over to 1 John. 1 John 3 read this many times, and you know it, but it can't help because John put it in there. Peter put it in there. Paul put it in there. Paul put it in there many times because he understood. 1 John 3 and verse 1, Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called children of God. He calls us that. We're called that. It's our name. It's who we are. Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know him. They don't recognize us. To the world, you're just a fool. Maybe we'll watch this video if they come across it. Smith, he's a fool. He says we're going to become gods. Didn't he know my aunt became an angel? My uncle and my grandfather, they're all angels floating around here helping us out. Yeah, I'm going straight from the Bible. Verse 2, Beloved, now we are children of God. There's no doubt. No, not where you might be. No, we are. Now we are children and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be in the future after we have left this physical body or had it changed. But we know that when he is revealed, when Jesus Christ returns, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. We're going to be hearts. We're going to be God just like he is. Now, does that make you feel like, well, look how important I am. Yes, I'm God. I'm God, you people out there. Treat me like a God. No, what did Jesus Christ came and took the, yes, yeah, John, he came as a servant. God's asking us to do that because when Christ comes back, is he coming back as a servant? No. Read your Bible. He's not coming back as a servant. He's coming back as the king of kings.

Are we going to be what everybody thinks we are now? No. It says royal priesthood, a chosen generation, royal priest, rulers. Why, he gave all those parables about if I gave you ten cities or give you five or give you all this is covered by Christ. That's what he's trying to explain. The world doesn't understand it, but you do. And it's important that we do and we don't forget it. Now, you need to go out on the street in your street corner. Right, Kathy, you need to go out on your street. Hey, hey, hey, God.

And you're not. No, that's not it. That's the opposite of what this is about, what he is all about. It is about the destiny that is before us. And we must fulfill that destiny. I have one more scripture. I'm actually going to get this done in time. Go with me to Revelation 3. Anybody know what Revelation chapter 3 is all about? Well, the Church is a God, right?

And he talks about that. And he talks about Sardis, and he talks about, and then he talks about a church that was in Philadelphia at the time. And then he says something so bizarre that people can't handle it. But this is to church members. In verse 9, it says, Indeed, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not, but lie. Indeed, I will make them come and do you remember? Do you remember here? Even John came before the angels and he wanted to fall down before an angel. He said, No, no, no, you'll do that. Don't do that. It happened all through the Bible where people would come and want to worship an angel. No, no, no, I'm a servant just like you. No, I'm here to help. No help here. How are you going to handle it? How are you going to handle when people come and bow down before you and worship you? You know how you're going to handle it? You're going to handle it because you have the mind of God. And if we do not develop that mind, it ain't going to happen. He can't have it. You know, he had that with Satan. Ezekiel 28, Isaiah 14, you know, Satan wanted to be, I'll be like the Mosiah. No, we don't want. That's not why you're doing what you're doing now so that you can have people come and worship at your feet because they say, what? I will make them. Christ is going to make them come and worship before your feet and know that I have loved you. That's a strong statement. It's in the Bible. We have such an incredible destiny before us. We have such a promise. Why other teachers don't teach this? Why other churches don't teach it when it's in the Bible? Just doesn't fit. It just blows their mind. It doesn't seem right. What did God say? My thoughts are not your thoughts. Your thoughts are not my thoughts. And He wants us to think spiritually. Then what an incredible opportunity we have. I gave you 10 scriptures proving my point. There are so many others. I could give two or three sermons and not use the same verses. They show this very same thing. To say, you will be God's is something we have a hard time saying because God has taught us to be humble. And we need to be. And Christ was humble. We can't forget who we are. But more important, we can't forget who we will be. That is why you're here. Because, as Romans said, you are predestined to be called. To be sanctified, set apart, justified by Jesus Christ's blood. And then to be glorified just like Him. Because that is who you're family. And, brother and I, I encourage you not to dismiss your family. Don't say, I don't want to be apart. Don't say, I don't believe this. Because it is who you are. We are God's. Christ said it. We're just waiting for the time.