God's Angels By Our Side

God's Angels by Our Side

Hebrews 1:1-14

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - July 7, 2013

*Chuck Swindoll shared a great testimony that he heard from one of his mentors. It was about a missionary home on furlough. He was traveling by car from church to church. And one rainy evening he faced a long, lonely, all-night journey. So, he asked the Lord to help him stay awake and make it safely to the next place he would minister.

*Just a few minutes later he came upon a man on the side of the road, thumbing a ride. Although the missionary rarely picked up hitchhikers, he felt sorry for the man out in the rain and offered him a lift.

*As the two of them began to visit, the missionary was thrilled to discover that the stranger was a believer. And that they had many mutual friends in the Lord's work. Time quickly passed as they laughed and shared stories.

*The fellowship was so good that the missionary hated to see dawn come, and hear his new friend say, "Well, here's where I get off." Before saying goodbye, the missionary invited him to have a cup of coffee at a roadside cafe.

*Then, as they parted, they promised to pray for each other. But a couple of minutes down the road, the missionary realized that he had failed to get the man's address and phone number. So he quickly went back to the café, but there was no sign of the man.

*When he asked the cook if he'd seen which way the other fella had gone. He was shocked to hear him respond: "What other fella? You came in here alone. I wondered why you ordered two cups of coffee."

*The missionary glanced at the table where the two had sat and noticed that the other cup was still full to the brim. Then he remembered that the hitchhiker had been standing in the pouring rain. But when he got in the car, he wasn't wet! (1)

*Have you ever seen or heard from an angel? Some of us are sure we have. And some of us here today might not even believe in angels. But what does the Bible say? Here God gives us 3 great truths about His angels:

1. First: God wants us to know that His angels are a matter of fact.

*Angels are just as real as you and me. And this passage of Scripture is not primarily about angels. It's mainly about Jesus Christ. But the Word of God does speak about angels here, as well as many other places. And when it does, it always speaks of them in a totally matter-of-fact way.

*Hebrews 1:5&6 begins with a question about God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ:

5. For to which of the angels did He (i.e. God the Father) ever say: "You are My Son, today I have begotten You? And again: "I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son?''

6. But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him.''

*Angels are just as real as we are. But I suppose there have always been people who did not believe in angels. We see some of these unbelievers in Acts 23:6-8. There, Paul appeared before the council in Jerusalem, and God's Word says:

6. But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!''

7. And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided.

8. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both.

*Those unbelieving Sadducees had also shown up back in Mark's Gospel. And there Jesus schooled them with these words:

24. . . "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?

25. For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

26. But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?

27. He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken.'' (Mark 12:24-27)

*Those Sadducees were greatly mistaken about the resurrection. And they were greatly mistaken about God's angels. We don't want to make the same mistake as the Sadducees! And as we go through the Bible, we see that the word "angel" appears 286 times. Angels are as real as we are.