SERIES: ANGELS and DEMONS
(freely adapted from a series of the same name by James Merritt)
“THE GOOD GUYS”
LUKE 2:13-14
OPEN
Angels are the subject of endless speculation and fascination. It's easy to find books, songs, seminars, pins and paintings about angels. So what are they and why do they exist? Angels are 100% pure spiritual beings. They were created by God and for God’s purposes
Here we are in the 21st century, the most technologically advanced time in the history of the world – iphones and ipods and instantaneous communication with cell phones and Facebook and Twitter. Yet, one of the latest Harris polls found that 7 out of 10 adults believe in angels.
You can count me in that number. I may not believe in angels for the same reason that you do. I don’t know why you believe in them if you do. But I agree with Billy Graham, who wrote in his book about angels: “I am convinced that these heavenly beings exist and they provide unseen aid on our behalf. I do not believe in angels because someone has told me about a dramatic visitation from an angel, impressive as such rare testimonies may be. I do not believe in angels because of the sudden world-wide emphasis on the reality of Satan and demons. I do not believe in angels because I have ever seen one, because I haven’t. I believe in angels because the Bible says there are angels and I believe the Bible to be the true word of God.”
Max Lucado describes the process of studying angels as “biblical whale-watching.” He said, “Angels surface just long enough to grant a glimpse and raise a question but then disappear before we have a full view.”
And it’s true. Whenever you read about angels in the Bible, they appear briefly. They have some short dialogue – they have a few lines to say - and they’re back out of the scene again. Their appearances are generally brief but they are many.
The Bible has a lot to say about angels. The word “angel” appears in the Bible over 300 times. And the word itself means “messenger.” There are some things about angels you may or may not know. There could be some things you have believed all your life but they may or may not be correct.
We sometimes tend to think that angels are eternal that they’ve always been around - like God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Angels are not eternal beings. Angels are what are termed “aeviternal” beings. That’s a big word. But it has a simple meaning. An aeviternal being is a being that has a beginning but not an ending. It is a created being but it is immortal – it cannot die. They were created but they were created to be immortal. They have a beginning but not an ending.
Furthermore, the do not have bodies like we do. We see them pictured that way in books and movies but in reality, they have no bodies. They’re not like human beings. They can’t die.
One time when Jesus was talking to His disciples about the resurrection that we would all experience one day, He said in Lk. 20:36 – “and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection.” Angels can’t die. They’re 100% pure spiritual beings.
Here’s something else about angels. We tend to think of angels as male beings because they’re constantly picture that way. Even in the Bible, they appear to be male but they’re not. They’re neither male nor female. They’re genderless beings.
The Bible teaches that angels rank below God but in some ways rank above us. Ps. 8:4-5 – “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.” The psalmist said that the angels are below God but in some ways above us.
How are angels higher than we are or above us? Here are three ways angels are above us: Number one, angels are stronger than we are. Not only is one man no match for one angel. A million men are no match for one angel. We’ll talk about this a more a little later in this message.
Angels are unbelievably powerful beings. Now, they’re not omnipotent like God, they can’t do just anything but they’re very, very strong.
A second thing about angels is that puts them above us is that they have knowledge we don’t have. They see things we can’t see. They hear things we can’t hear. They observe things we can’t observe. They can go places we can’t go. But understand this, even though they know more than we do, they’re not omniscient like God does - they don’t know everything like God does.
A third thing about angels is that they can travel to places more quickly and efficiently than we can. Angels are not omnipresent like God. An angel in Illinois cannot be in California at the same time. He can get to California very fast. But he can’t be in two places at one time. However, unlike us, he doesn’t need to take a jet or a car or a bus to get to where he needs to go. Can go anywhere they want to go without the aid of earthly transportation.
This morning I want us to look together at the most famous picture in the Bible about angels. You either read it to your family or hear it read in church. You might hear a sermon about this famous passage. And you probably will hear songs depicting the events described in this famous passage. In fact, 2/3 of what we’re going to talk about angels is in this passage of scripture. Everything that angels do is described in this passage. Lk. 2:13-14 – “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’”
Those two verses give us a boatload of information, an encyclopedia full of truth about why God created angels and why they’re here, and what purpose they serve. We’re going to look at three important functions of angels on this planet.
I want to encourage you to look at the outline on the back of the bulletin. Jot down some notes on this message. In fact, I’m going to add an extra point that is not on your bulletin. Why should you take notes on this message? Because everything angels do, we should be doing.
ANGELS WORSHIP FOR GOD’S GLORY
When you go back and look at passages in the Bible concerning angels, almost every time you find them worshipping God. They worshipped God from the time they were created.- from the creation of the world. Neh. 9:6 – “You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry
host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the
multitudes of heaven worship you.”
At almost every great event described in the Bible, you will hear angels singing in the background worshipping God. When God created the heavens and the earth, the Bible says the angels were in the background singing and worshipping with joy. While God was putting everything together, the angels watched in wonder and amazement. I wonder if they said, “Would you look at that?” “Did you see what God just did?”
Job 38:4-7 – “Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone- while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?”
Angels have worshipped since the beginning. And the worship of angels never ends. They worship continuously. Rev. 7:11 – “All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: ‘Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!’”
If you went to heaven right now and went to the throne of God, there would be a battalion of angels on their faces worshipping God every single moment.
Here’s something else interesting. We’re worshipping with angels right now in this place. If I could open your spiritual eyes right now, you would see angels among us worshipping God. Heb. 12:22-23a – “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.”
The word translated as “assembly” is one of the New Testament words that refers to the church. And right now in church, wherever people gather to worship God, there is an unseen host of angels worshipping God with us just as one day in heaven we will worship God with them.
You might be saying, “Mike, that is interesting, but why are you telling us about this? How does this apply to my life?” Here’s the point: If angels, who cannot be saved, who cannot know God the way we can, who cannot have relationship with God the way we can, if they worship God, how much more should we worship God? How much more excited should we be in our worship knowing that we have a relationship with God that angels can only envy? Angels worship for God’s glory
ANGELS WORK FOR GOD’S PLEASURE
Contrary to popular belief, angels don’t do what we imagine them doing. In our thinking, they sit on clouds, they flap their wings, and they play music on their harps all day long. Ps. 103:20-21 – “Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
Angels are ready to serve God at any time. They stand prepared to do what God wants at any given time. They’re saying to God: “God, what do you want me to do? Where do you want me to go? Who do you want
me to serve? What do you want me to say? I’m here to do whatever you want me to do.”
Here’s the big question: What does God want them to do? What is their major function? How do they serve God? God says to them, “Here is your major job. I want you to take care of my people. I want you look after them and take care of their needs.” Heb. 1:14 – “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” How do they help us? Their help for us can be summed up in two words: provide and protect.
First, let’s talk about how they provide. Here are some biblical examples. In the Gospel of Matthew, we see after Jesus’ baptism that He was led by the Holy Spirit out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After the temptation period was completed, the Bible tells us that angels came and ministered to Jesus. How did they do that? They gave Him food and water and the ability to rest.
In the Old Testament, we see the prophet Elijah on the run from the wicked Queen Jezebel. He’s out in the wilderness all by himself. He has nothing to eat and nothing to drink. God sent angels to provide for his needs.
Some of you in this room today, God has provided something for you by the ministry of angels. And you didn’t even know it. You thought it was just a coincidence or another person or ever good fortune or luck. But it was an angelic event. God blessed you through his angels.
There is one important way that angels minister to us. They encourage us to do what they do – serve God.
Heb. 13:2 – “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”
God is saying there are going to be times when a stranger will cross your path. They may knock on your front door. You may encounter them in a parking lot at the grocery store. They may see you walking out of a church building. They may tell you they have a need. And you don’t know it, but it’s an angel.
That’s why you need to be careful how you treat strangers. You never know when you might be dealing with an angel. It’s God’s test to show you how well you’re doing in the area of compassion and mercy. Angels provide.
Angels also protect. Have many of you have heard of guardian angels? Let me give you the bad news first. The Bible does not teach that everyone has a guardian angel. But the Bible teaches that there are guardian angels. There are angels who guard and protect.
However there is one condition for their protection. The promise of angelic protection only belongs to those who know God and love God and trust God and serve God. Go back to Heb. 1:14 – “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”
If you’re not a follower of Jesus Christ, they don’t interfere in your life. They don’t get in your business. They are for those who inherit salvation
Ps. 34:7 – “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” There are angels who camp outside of where we live and they camp outside of our life but only for those of us who fear God and know God. If you do fear God and know God, you have provided for you, at no cost, angelic protection. I think if we could open our spiritual eyes, we would see these mighty warriors of God.
Ps. 91:11 – “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Now, that doesn’t mean that we won’t ever be hurt or that we won’t ever die or that bad things won’t happen to us.
Woman walking down the street one day. She heard a voice shout, “Stop! Take one more step and you’ll be killed!” She stopped and a huge brick fell out of the sky and landed where she would have been if she’d taken one more step.
A little bit later she was walking down the street. She went to cross the street and the same voice yelled, “Stop! Don’t cross that street! Stay where you are!” She stopped. This cement truck came speeding around the corner, missed the turn, and went into a death roll. If she’d walked into that street, shoe would have been killed.
She was shaking like a leaf. And she asked the voice, “Who are you?” The voice said, “I am your guardian angel. I imagine you have some questions for me.” She said, “Just one. Where were you on my wedding day?!?”
We can be grateful that angels working for God’s pleasure and that they’re worshipping for God’s glory. But the Bible says that they do one other thing and that they do it so well that they will bring an end to the world as we know it.
ANGELS WAR FOR GOD’S VICTORY
I want to explode one last myth about angels. Contemporary depictions. of angels do not match up with the biblical portrayals. Go out to any stores and look for angels. Most of them look like fairies. They have see-through wings. They’re calm, mild-mannered. If they’re good enough, they’ll star in their own TV show.
There are two words that describe the work of angels in their war for God’s victory. They are many and they are mighty.
As Jesus stands before Pilate just before He goes to the cross, He makes a statement that tells us a little bit about many angels. Mt. 26:53 – “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”
Do you know how many soldiers there are in a legion? 6,000. Jesus told Pilate, “I can call more than 72,000 angels right now.” By the way, and this doesn’t really have anything to do with anything, but I found out this week that Anaheim Stadium where the California Angels play baseball seats 72,000 people. I just found that interesting.
Rev. 5:11-12 – “Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’” We don’t even know how many angels there are. There are many and they are mighty.
Yes, the angels are might. 2 Thess. 1:7 – “…when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.” The word translated as “powerful” here is the word from which we get out words dynamic and dynamite. It’s a reference to something extremely powerful. Explosively powerful.
So, just how powerful are they? Two biblical illustrations. Do you remember when Moses went to Pharaoh to get him to release the children of Israel from slavery? When Pharaoh refused, God would send a plague on Egypt.
The final plague was that if Pharaoh did not release the children of Israel that all of the first born in Egypt would die. The only exemption was that you would place the blood of a lamb on your doorposts. Then the plague would “pass over” that household.
Pharaoh refused and all the first born in Egypt died except for those with the blood of the lamb applied to the doorposts. Do you know how many angels it took to do that? Only one.
There’s another incident in the Old Testament. One of the most powerful of armies of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. Jerusalem was completely surrounded. There were hundreds of thousand of men in that army.
King Hezekiah prayed for protection and deliverance. When he got up the next morning, every member of the Egyptian army was dead. Do you know how many angels it took to do that? Just one.
It only took one angel to keep every lion’s mouth shut for Daniel in the lion’s den. They are powerful! As a matter of fact, the reason there are demons and the devil in this world is that they were not strong enough to fight against the angels.
Rev. 12:7-9 – “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”
Even the devil is no match for the angels. As powerful as the devil is and as powerful as his demons are, they are no match for God’s angels. That’s why when you die or if you’re alive when Jesus Christ returns, you’d better be on the side of angels.
CLOSE
Angel means “messenger”. And the greatest of all messages was delivered by angels. It was an angel who told the shepherds in Lk. 2:11 – “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, it was an angel who told the women: “He is not here! He has risen!”
Those messages brought great joy to those who heard them in the first century. And they should be sources of joy for those of us in the 21st century. The essence of the Gospel – the good news – was angelically announced but takes no meaning until it takes meaning in your life.
