Today, we will talk about angels.
They are God's special messengers.
They encamp upon those who fear or love God.
They deliver the Christians from the attack of the devil or demons.
Psalms 34:7 (NIV) "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them."
To encamp means to dwell, to settle or to protect.
God Has sent us His Holy angels to help the Christians.
But many of us don't have real understanding on the ministry of the angels.
We believe in angels but we have not seen one.
We have heard about the work of angels in other people's lives but most of us don't have the same experience.
We have read about them but our minds have a lot of unanswered questions.
How do they look like?
What do they do?
How do they minister to Christians?
How do they differ from people like us?
Our knowledge in this subject is very much limited.
But the Bible has all the answers.
We have to study the Bible more.
We will study a lot of verses about angels from the Old to the New Testament.
Knowledge is power.
The more we know, the more we will appreciate the work of God in our lives.
So, today, we will study about angels.
This is called "Angelology."
I must warn you that this is not just spiritual milk but solid meat.
It is time for us to grow in the Word.
It is about time to go deeper in God's Word.
I. DEFINITION OF ANGELS
First, let us go to the definition of angels?
Simply put, Angels are spiritual beings created by God to serve Him.
They are also called God's special emissaries or messengers.
Remember that in the beginning, God created the heavens.
God created the sun.
He created the moon and the stars.
God also created the waters and the skies above.
Everything has been made by God.
He commanded and it was so.
The Bible says that it was the same time that God created all the angels in heaven.
The purpose is that they will all praise the name of the Lord.
Psalms 148:1-5 (NIV) "1 Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. 2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him all his heavenly hosts. 3 Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. 4 Praise him, you highest heaven and you waters above the skies. 5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his command they were created."
II. THE DESCRIPTION OF ANGELS:
1. ANGELS ARE SPIRIT BEINGS:
Angels are spirit beings but they have some kind of form.
In fact, they are even capable of appearing in a human form.
They can visit us and sometimes, we are not aware that they are angels.
So, we have to be careful of everything we do.
In Hebrews 13:2, the Bible says "be careful how you treat strangers or you might be entertaining angels unawares." That is why every good deed to strangers will be recorded in heaven.
Angels interact with humans and they note of what we do.
They also appear for example in Matthew Chapter 28 in verses 3 and 4 to have a form.
Speaking of an angel, at Christ's resurrection the one who was there when the stone was rolled away, it say, "3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men."
There was a dazzling appearance of the angel.
It was bright and glaring.
It was brilliant and shining.
The angel's was like lightning.
His clothes were white as snow.
Those who have no idea of the appearance of the angels became fearful the first time he appeared.
Angels are the messengers of light from God.
2. ANGELS HAVE GREATER WISDOM THAN MEN.
Not only are angels spirit beings, but they are also wise.
They have greater wisdom than men.
In 2 Samuel 14:20, we find here a short description of the angel of God.
The verse says: "My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God - he knows everything that happens in the land."
Angels are very knowledgeable about the things of God.
They are clever and have the foresight of the the events in our lives.
They have discernment and can anticipate things as they happen.
Surely, these are spiritual gifts from God.
Angels also, according to Daniel 9:21, have incredible speed.
It says: "21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice."
Daniel was in prayer.
Before that, he had confessed his sins and the sins of his people.
God then sent His angel Gabriel to minister to him.
The angel came in swift flight to assure him that he is highly esteemed and to give him understanding.
Swift flight means speedy, sudden and abrupt without any expected delayed.
When we pray, the angels are there to minister to our needs like flying express.
Why, because in other Scriptures, angels are pictured with six wings.
God can easily direct them to help us.
3. ANGELS HAVE GREATER POWER THAN MEN.
Angels have strong fortitude.
They have special energy and courage not found in men.
They have power and stability.
Matthew 28:2 (NIV) "There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it."
The Bible says that there was one angel that came down during the resurrection of Jesus.
He rolled the stone and sat back on it.
It took several men to put it back.
They have brute force and strong arm.
Acts 5:19 (NIV) "But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out."
In here, the Apostles were arrested and put in public jail.
An angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.
He unlocked the doors even without great force.
In both situations, the angels have supernatural strength not found in men.
These powers however were used to serve God and to protect the Christians.
4. ANGELS ARE UNABLE TO PROCREATE.
Angels are not able to multiply.
They cannot propagate nor conceive more angels.
There were no angels that has been added to the original batch.
God made them all unique
as single identities, they do not cohabitate.
Matthew 22:28-30 indicates that to us. "28 Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?” 29 Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. So they were all made at once."
They do not procreate.
The number of angels has not changed one angel since they were originally created, though a great number of them have fallen.
They still exist as they were created.
They are not subject to death.
Scripture nowhere indicates that they die.
Scripture no where indicates that they are in any way able to be made extinct.
They do not decrease and they do not increase.
Each angel then is a direct creation of God standing in immediate personal relationship to God the creator who made him.
III. THE TYPES OF ANGELS.
God is holy and pure.
Therefore, all angels were created by God holy and without sin.
Yet, there was a rebellion by Satan in heaven.
He lifted up his own beauty.
He sought to exalt himself above God.
He rebelled against the plan and purposes of God.
In his rebellion, he took with him one third of the angels.
Revelation 12:4 (NIV) "Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth."
That means, one third of the angels have fallen to the earth.
They have waged an ongoing rebellion against God and His children on earth.
While another part of the angels have remained true and loyal to God in heaven.
Hence, there are good angels and there are evil angels.
The bad angels or fallen angels are also called demons.
Their leader is Satan.
He is also called in the Bible a liar, a murderer and a thief.
John 10:10 (NIV) "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy."
He is God's great antagonist.
He hates God and God's people.
Scripture tells us that he prowls about like a roaring lion in search of those he may devour by his schemes.
I Peter 5:8 (NIV) "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
That means, when he sees that you are weak spiritually and you have lost touch with God and His people, you are an easy target.
When he sees you sleepy, drowsy or sluggish in going to church, you are an easy target.
When he sees you with unforgiving spirit, bitter and very critical to others, you are an easy target.
When he sees you not reading your Bible, not praying and not attending church, you are an easy target.
Those are the moments when you are most vulnerable to temptations and to committing sin.
That is why the Bible tells us to be alert and sober so that we will be on guard always.
But there are also multitudes of angels who are good.
They remain loyal to God.
They are obedient to God's voice.
They serve God and His people.
IV. THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS TO GOD'S PEOPLE:
What are the ministry of the good angels?
1. ANGELS PROTECT.
Psalms 91:11 says that "For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;"
That means, God will send His holy angels to a believer in distress.
Their task is to "guard" or protect the Christians from harm.
They will defend you from the enemy.
They be your shield from the attack.
They will be our custodian while in earth.
They will escort us to God's presence when we die.
They will be like our sentinels watching our every move because you and I belong to God.
Angels are to protect us.
Angels do exist.
Angels are important.
Angels are on our side.
2. ANGELS ENCOURAGE.
The next verse: Psalms 91:12 says: "they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."
That means, God will not only guard us but also will lift us upward when we are down.
To lift us means to encourage us, when we are depressed.
Angels are to raise us up, elevate us and bring us back to the original path we are walking.
They will inspire us and brighten our day when we think they are gloomy.
They will also prevent us from striking our foot against a stone.
That means they will not allow us to stumble.
They will warn us of the danger ahead.
We have to take heed and listen to their warnings.
But when we do stumble, because we do not listen, they will pick us up and put us back on our feet.
What a glorious truth.
There are many more things that angels do for humans.
They protect.
They encourage.
They provide.
They proclaim the truth.
They carry on God's judgment.
We cannot be able to study everything today.
But the truth is, they are real and they are on our side.
Therefore, we must not be afraid of the devil.
We must be grateful to the Lord for the guardian angels assigned to us.
Let me end with with story:
Rachael recently had a nightmarish experience and lived to tell the story.
As she was returning to her car which was parked at the mall, she was accosted by two men, who at gunpoint forced her into their car.
They blindfolded her and hurriedly drove out to a deserted woods where she was raped.
Before her attackers left, one of them drew out the gun and shot her three times and fled.
Several hours had passed, she had no recollection of how many...
but somehow she started to revive and managed to struggle to her feet.
She searched for her shoes but could not find them.
In her bare feet, she fell, stumbled, walked, crawled out to the country road.
She knew that if she were to get some help, she'd have to walk the miles to town.
With her goal in focus... she began to make her way on the harsh gravel of the roadway, stopping frequently to rest.
She would walk and fall, then sit for a while to gather some strength and get up to go again.
She feared she would die before she found help.
She began to pray and asked God to please send someone to help her.
In her weakened state, and near delirious with pain and loss of blood, she all of a sudden felt like she was being helped along - almost like being carried and she didn't stumble and fall anymore.
Finally she reached the first house on the edge of town and at that moment it seemed as if she were placed gently back on the ground.
There was a light on the house.
So she managed to walk up to the three steps onto the porch and knocked on the door.
A young woman answered, took one look at Rachael and crumpled to the floor in a dead faint.
Her husband stepped over his wife to help Rachael inside to a couch on which to lie down.
He quickly phoned 911 for an ambulance then went back to help his wife who was beginning to revive.
When she was back functioning and seated in a chair across the couch, Rachael somehow managed to give a wan smile and said, "I'm sorry had I frightened you like this. I know I must look terrible."
The wife replied, "No, that's not why I fainted. I saw this great shining angel holding you up as you stood in the doorway!"
Later at the emergency roof of the hospital where the ER doctor examined her, he noted that even though she had gunshot wounds and bruises from the rape... and had covered several miles on the rough gravel road, there was not even a scratch or bruise on her bare feet."
Psalms 91:11 says that "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."
SINNERS' PRAYER:
Dear Heavenly Father,
I admit I have sinned against you.
I am sorry for the wrong I have done.
I believe that your Son Jesus was punished for my sin when He died on the cross.
I believe that he rose from the dead and sits at your right hand.
I confess Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.
Thank you Lord for hearing my prayer. Amen.
