Angels Are Real

"Angels Are Real"

Author: Dr. Neal Gray

Passage: Hebrews 13:1-6

Purpose: The Bible is so full of references to angels, we must know for sure that angels exist. But angels are not our guide, nor our god. Let us live holy lives, even holier than angels, that our Father in heaven will be pleased with us. Let us live such that Jesus Christ is glorified by our behavior.

INTRODUCTION

Opening

I don’t know what’s wrong with me. As long as I can remember, I’ve never been a great fan of "angels."

Now, I believe that they exist. I believe strongly that they have a very great ministry in serving God. I even believe that angels are around us on this earth--more than we think. Our Scripture passage confirms this truth.

I’ve just never thought that angels deserved much of my attention. So I haven’t taught nor preached about angels.

Today, however, let’s consider the heavenly angels. Perhaps I’ll leave church today with a greater appreciation for them.

Scripture

Our Scripture is the first paragraph in Hebrews chapter 13.

THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS

Introduction

I’m going to make an assumption: the heavenly angels are holy, and they want to help.

Angels Worship God

The Scripture is full of word-pictures showing us that the heavenly angels worship God. In fact, THEIR PRIMARY MINISTRY SEEMS TO BE THAT OF WORSHIP and praise of God.

Isaiah the prophet saw a vision of the Lord on His throne--lofty and exalted. Around God were winged angels who were saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory," (cf. Isaiah 6:3). One of those angels touched Isaiah’s mouth with a burning coal from the altar of God, and then God commissioned Isaiah to preach the truth to His people.

In The Revelation we learn of a similar scene. But it is a prophecy; the time is nearing for Jesus to return to the earth for the second coming. Around the throne of God were "four living creatures, each of them having six wings." Their duty is to constantly sing out to the Lord:

"Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come." (Revelation 4:8).

==> Yes, angels sing God’s praises, they bow down to Him, they obey Him, they worship Him.

God Uses Angels on Earth

It seems that God has faith in the angels to do some very important work here on earth. At least we know that the Lord has faith in some angels. And God wants His people to know that He cares; so He sometimes sends angels to tell us that He cares. Nice, huh?

You should know that, in both the Hebrew and the Greek, the word used for "angel" means, "messenger." So you won’t be surprised to find that ANGELS PROVIDE A "MESSENGER SERVICE" for God to humans. Recall that...

* The angel Gabriel brought good news to the priest Zacharias that he would have a powerful prophet son (Luke 1:8ff.)

* Gabriel also told Mary that she would bear the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:26ff), and,

* An angel informed the shepherds about Christ’s birth, and a multitude of angels praised the new born Child (Luke 2:8ff.)

In each of these cases, the angel let it be known that "he" (actually, angels don’t seem to have a gender) was sent from God. Zacharias, Mary, and the shepherds KNEW FOR CERTAIN THAT THEY WERE SPEAKING WITH AN ANGEL.

Not everyone knows, however, when they are speaking with an angel, so...

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13:2)

==> Since God is using angels to bring messages to people on earth, perhaps you should consider how you treat strangers.

My "Angel" Experience

Now, I have never knowingly seen an angel. I mean, I’ve never seen anyone who had wings, or who was transparent like a spirit. No one has ever declared to me that he or she was an angel sent from God.

But there is this one time that a man came into my life for five minutes; and I’ve often wondered.

I was eighteen years old, had joined the U.S. Air Force, and was at my technical training school in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Several of my airman friends and I decided we would, on this Friday, walk into town (none of us had a car), eat a steak dinner, and attend a newly released movie.

Well, I was the last one in line paying my bill at the restaurant. When I got outside, my friends were speaking to a man; he was a complete stranger, about 60 years old, I would say.

When I joined the group standing there just outside the restaurant, this man’s attention turned to me. He motioned over to me and said these words, "Now, my boys, this one...this one here has something special."