This is from a transcript of a sermon preached by Dr. Jack Graham on July 24, 1994
I know that you pray for us because every week we’re hearing from people ah individuals, families who are being ministered to by God’s word because of this powerful impact of television.
Now would you take God’s Word and turn with me to the book of Psalms… Psalm number 91. After years and years of neglect… as a matter of fact, since the Middle Ages we have known a neglect of those majestic beings known as angels… angels. And yet today angels are in vogue. Angels are in fashion. There’s a Popular new movie Angels in the Outfield. Three television shows this fall, I understand, have to do with angels.
Whether it be by movies or media attention or magazines, angels are now in the forefront of people’s imagination. I wonder why. I believe it’s because more and more people are realizing the failure of secularism, the failure of humanism, the failure of materialism. And as peoples’ lives become more confused as people realize that there must be something more. There must be something more to life. There must be a spiritual dimension beyond what I can comprehend, beyond what I can know here on earth. There must be more to life than this. And so people today are looking beyond themselves for help and for hope, and many people are looking for angels.
Now does the Bible refer to angels? Well, of course, the Bible refers to angels, and very specifically what angels do. And there’s 1 verse that I’ve chosen, and I hope you have 2 verses actually that I’ve chosen, but I hope you have your Bibles open and that you’re going to write down these references, because I’m going to be moving quickly through the Scriptures this morning as we discuss the subject: angels, angels, angels. Verse 11 of chapter 91:
For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
They shall bear you up in their hands,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
As a matter of fact, angels are not for our imagination or our entertainment. They’re not the product of the Middle Ages or Medieval thought or mystical thought. But angels are very, very real. And I want to speak at the outset of the reality of angels. Now, of course, people wonder if beings exist in other places besides earth.
We are celebrating this year the twenty-fifth anniversary of man first walking on the moon. I know some of you really still don’t believe that that happened, but it did happen. And man walked on the moon! And today because of that there’s a renewed interest in… in space exploration.
As a matter of fact, the cover article in this week’s Newsweek has to do with Mars; and we’ve been ah… watching the explosions in outer space this week, and there is still an insatiable quest within the heart of mankind to explore the heavens. And the question is often raised: Are there beings out there besides us? Are we alone in the universe? Are there extraterrestrial?
Well, as a matter of fact, we are not alone in the universe. And supernatural beings do exist in this world and beyond this world. These beings are beautiful beyond our imagination. They are intelligent, they are powerful, they travel at unprecedented speeds through time and through space. And from time to time these beings appear to man, though it is rare, because these beings are most often invisible and they belong to a domain beyond the comprehension of the human eye.
Martin Luther, the great reformer, said this about angels. “An angel is a spiritual creature without a body, created by God for the service of Christendom and the church of Jesus Christ.”
Angels, indeed, exist. Their presence has been felt and testimonials abound in history, as well as current affairs, as to who these angels are and what these angels do.
For example, Billy Graham has written in his fantastic book, Angels: God’s Secret Agents concerning the Reverend John G. Patton, a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands. And he tells the thrilling story of the protective care of angels over John Patton and his family.
It seems that a hostile nation of natives surrounded the mission headquarters of the Pattons one night, with the intent of burning the Pattons out and killing them. And so John Patton and his dear wife and children huddled together and they prayed for God to deliver them through that danger. They awakened the next morning relieved to discover that somehow unaccountably their would-be attackers had left. And so they thanked God for delivering them.
But the rest of the story is this: “A year later,” Mr. Graham says, “the chief of the tribe was converted to Jesus Christ. And Mr. Patton, remembering what had happened, asked the chief what had kept him and his men from burning the house down and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, ‘Who were all those men you had with you there?’ The missionary answered, ‘There were no men there. Just my wife and I and our children.’ The chief argued that they had seen many men standing guard. (That gives me goosebumps!) many men standing guard! Hundreds and hundreds of big men in shining garments, with drawn swords in their hands. They seemed to circle the mission station so that the natives were afraid to attack.” God sent angels… dispatched angels to protect that missionary and his family.
Yes, the universe is occupied. The heavens and the earth is full of myriads and myriads of angels. And while they are normally not seen with the human eye, they often interact between God and man, between heaven and earth, and are even involved in the governments of nations. They exist in a dimension that we cannot imagine, and yet their cosmic presence is often felt.
Elisha, the great prophet of God and his servant one day were facing a… a horde of soldiers from Syria. It appeared that they were facing certain death. And the servant of Elisha was terrified. But Elisha then prayed, “O God, open his eyes that he may see.” And God allowed that man to see with spiritual eyes and the servant observed row after row of chariots full of the hosts of heaven, full of the angelic armies of God. And it was there that he learned the powerful lesson, “They that are with us are greater than them against us.”
Let me tell you something. All the demonic hordes of hell are no match for God’s angelic, angelic artillery. And the power of God is so real as He embraces our lives, even to the effect that angels are sent to minister and even to war on our behalf.
Now perhaps angels have been neglected to some degree because we have a preoccupation with demons and demon spirits. But let me remind you, for every angel that fell from heaven, there are two angels who did not fall from heaven. For every demon there are angels galore! And “greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
Now surely if angels exist, and they do exist… the Scripture tells us they exist. As a matter of fact there are nearly 300 specific references to angels in the Bible. So if angels exist, and the Word of God says they exist, why should we study them?
Well, as a matter of fact, perhaps now more than ever, it is relevant to study the work and the ministry of angels. Why? For when we study angels, the mission and the ministry of angels, we observe God’s sovereign grace; we observe His power. We learn more of His holiness. We experience the command of God over creation and of all that he has made. We see more of His majesty, more of His glory, more of His grace in the ministry of the angels. For these angels are emissaries from heaven. They are deputies of God, the agents of God Almighty. And so to study angels is to study the character and the nature of God.
But not only that; to study angels we are greatly encouraged to know the ministry of angels in our lives, the lives of believers. The Christian life is positive, the Christian life is triumphant. And it is so good to know that we are not alone in the world; that God has promised His presence, and in extension of the presence of God these angels minister to us.
Again, quoting from Billy Graham’s book on angels, he reflects a good perspective on why we should study angels with these words: “I am convinced that these heavenly beings exist and that they provide unseen aid in 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 UFO’s are astonishingly angel-like in some of their reported appearances. I do not believe in angels because ESP experts are making the realm of the spirit world seem more and more plausible. I do not believe in angels because of the sudden worldwide emphasis on the reality of Satan and spiritual ah… work among demons. I do not believe in angels because I’ve 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.”
And on a personal word, Mr. Graham went on to say: “As an evangelist, I have often felt too far spent to minister from the pulpit to men and women who have filled huge stadiums to hear a message from God. Yet again and again my weakness has vanished, and my strength has been renewed. On many occasions God has become especially real and sent His unseen angelic visitors to touch my body, to let me be His messenger from heaven, speaking as a dying man to dying men.”
And I can tell you as a preacher of the Gospel that I’ve experienced that same surge of energy and power at times, when it seems that the very presence of God was so real, you could reach out and touch Him. And that angel beings somehow strengthened us there, and encourage us when we’re in the battle for the Lord.
Yes, the Word of God declares that ah … angels exist. Old Testament to New Testament, every time you turn the pages of Scripture you hear the rustle of the wings of angels, because God has set them and presented them as messengers and ministers to do His bidding. This is the reality of angels.
But now let’s talk about the ministry of angels. Who are they? And what do they do? Just some facts! Let’s just cover some facts about angels, because we have questions about who they are and what they do.
For one, they are created beings. Angels did not always exist. As a matter of fact in the book of Job, we’re told that angels celebrated the creation of God. They existed at creation, but somewhere before creation, in eternity-past God created the angels. Because only God has always existed. The angels haven’t always existed. And apparently instantaneously God created the heavenly host.
These angel beings are beautiful. We know they’re beautiful because in reading the description of Lucifer before his… before his fall… the devil is a fallen angel… and before his fall he is described as being exquisitely beautiful, with the voice of many waters. And in his own pride he rose up in rebellion against God. But the angels are magnificently and majestically beautiful.
They possess intelligence, far superior intelligence to mankind. They possess a personality. I don’t believe that all the angels are just alike. There are names of angels in the Bible. There are ranks and offices of the angels in the Bible. They possess their own personality with emotion and will and decision-making processes. “They rejoiced in creation.” Job 38, verse 7. These angels are immortal for there is no indication in the Scripture that the angels ever die. There is indication that they do not reproduce, for Jesus said they’re not like men and women in reproducing. Angels are not born; they are created, and therefore, they never die.
How many angels exist? Well, when the announcement was made at the birth of Jesus in Luke chapter 2, verse 13, it says that a multitude of the heavenly host made this announcement. A host is innumerable in the mathematics of heaven a heavenly host. We see something more of the magnificent ah, multiplied millions of angels in Revelation 5:11, where John in seeing the glory of God said, “The number of them (speaking of the angels) was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands.” That in itself is one hundred million angels! A billion angels!
Hebrews 12:22 speaks of the innumerable company of angels. And these angels are organized like an army with ranks and offices, who march at the command of God, who execute the righteous judgment of God. These angels are also viewed at times as a heavenly choir which worshipped God day and night!
These angels function as messengers to men in significant times in human history. Have you noticed as you read your Bible that angels always seem to show up at significant events in human and biblical history? We’ve already noted that angels were present and rejoiced in the creation of the heavens and the earth.
Angels were present in the Garden of Eden when mankind fell and God stationed angels to protect the Garden and protect man and to keep man from returning to that Garden of failure.
Angels were present, according to Acts 7:38, when the Ten Commandments were given, when Moses received the Law of God, the Pentateuch, the Decalogue of God. Angels attended there and ordained that moment with God.
The prophets were ordained of God, according to Acts 7:53 and so in the revelation of Scripture… in the giving of the Scripture by the Holy Spirit, the angels ministered there.
Of course, the angels were present when the birth of Jesus was announced to Mary. And angels were there, the heavenly host when the birth took place, singing “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill towards man.”
An angel was present in the dream of Joseph to protect the Christ child from the cruelty of Herod.
Angels were often present in the life of Jesus: when He faced one on one in the desert Satan himself, Jesus was ministered to, the Scripture says, by the angels.
And then when our Lord faced the cross and there on His face, pouring out His life’s blood in preparation for giving Himself as a ransom for the souls of men; as He sweated blood and tears, the angels came there in the garden, according to the Scriptures, and ministered to the Son of God.
And then when Jesus was on the cross, according to Matthew 26 and verse 53, these great warriors were ready with swords drawn to come and deliver the Lord Jesus Christ! But Jesus hung alone in obedience to the will of the Father, even though one word from Jesus could have sent these powerful beings to destroy the enemies of Christ. He hung and He died alone for you and for me, that we might have eternal life.
And, of course, the angels were there that morning when the ladies went to the tomb expecting to anoint His body. The angel sitting on the stone, rolled away, and said, “Why are seeking the living among the dead! He’s not here! He’s risen!”
The angels were there after 40 days of appearances of the resurrected Christ, when Christ ascended up into glory, and there the angel of God said, “Ye men of Galilee…” Two angels of God! “You men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven, for this same Jesus taken up in heaven shall so come in like manner as you’ve seen Him go.” They promised the return of Jesus. And Jesus said, “They will participate in My return when I come in glory with the holy angels.”
We see an increase of activity in the last days of angels moving and working and interacting as God’s agents of judgment in the book of Revelation. In Revelation 7:2-3, in Revelation 16:3-4. Read the book of Revelation and you will see angels in the last days. And as an increase of it’s sinfulness and violence and demonic activity takes place during times of tribulation, God will send His angels.
And angels will be involved there as the executors of God’s plan and purpose for mankind. And they show power over the elements, and power over the environment, as they do God’s will.
And so angels work behind the scenes in the drama of world history, and they serve as messengers and ministers of God to execute His purpose. We see them as worshippers, we see them as warriors, we see them as preachers, as communicators. The word angel means angelos, messenger. We see them as lion-tamers in the book of Daniel. We see them as birth attendants. We see them as recruiters. We see them as rescuers. We see them as explorers, as executioners. We see them as comforters as they minister to the people of God.
And believers know and expect God’s holy angels to accompany you through life’s journey. What is the ministry of angels? First, it is a ministry to God and for God, and then it is a ministry to believers.
Now I want you to look in your Bibles at Hebrews 1:14. We’ve already read the passage from Psalms which describes the protective care that angels give to us. But in Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 14
I Like hearing those pages turn! Sounds like angel wings to me. Verse 14:
Are they not all ministering spirits (speaking of the angels) sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? (That’s you and me… who have inherited salvation.)
These powerful beings, angels, are working in our behalf today! I personally believe that because we are facing the final hours of human history, that there is an increase, just as there is an increase of demonic activity, there is an increase in angelic activity and that is why there is such a renewed interest in angels today.
But what do these angels do? Number one, they watch. They watch us! They watch us! Turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 4:9. Just go back to 1 Corinthians 4:9. And while you’re making your way there, if you find Ephesians, just find your place in Ephesians 3 as well. First Corinthians 4:9 and Ephesians 3:10. Verse 9:
For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.
The word spectacle there is translated theater. In the divine drama of life angels observe our actions. God has a plan, God has a purpose, God has a role and a part for everyone of us to play, and then angels are exceedingly interested in this spectacle… in this amazing life that God has given us. And so they watch us carefully.
What an encouragement that is to know that we’re not alone in the universe. That loving benevolent beings are there, present, watching us, remembering us.
Did you know that angels even go to church with us? In Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 10:
To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God may be known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.
The principalities and powers refers to the angels who observe, who watch and see the wisdom of God displayed through His saints, through His children.
And so there are angels here this morning. I heard the…
I hear the brush of angel’s wings, there’s glory on each face. Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
Angels are present. Even as we are promised the Spirit of God, and certainly they stand amazed at the wisdom and the love of God, and angels wonder at our worship because, you see, angels have never been saved. Angels have never been redeemed as we’ve been redeemed. And so:
“Holy, Holy, Holy,” is what the angels sing. And then angels stand and listen, for they cannot join that song like the sound of many waters by that happy blood-washed throng. Holy, Holy, Holy is what the angels sing. But when we sing salvation’s story, the angels must fold their wings, for they have never known the joy our salvation brings.
And so they watch with amazement and give glory to God, to the worshippers of the Lord Jesus Christ. They watch.
But not only are they watching us, they’re guiding us. Angels lead us from time to time. The Holy Spirit is given internally to guide us. But according to Scripture angels may lead us externally. Listen to the words of John Calvin, one of the great thinkers and theologians of all time, in his Institutes of the Christian Religion. He said this: “The angels are the dispensers and the administrators of the divine blessing toward us. They regard our safety, undertake our defense, direct our ways and exercise a constant solicitude that no evil shall befall us.”
The angels guide us in the experiences of life from time to time. The Bible is especially clear on this when we are standing in the face and in the throes of the dark day of death, for when we face that threshold, when it comes time to die, the Scripture is abundantly clear that the angels will attend us there. At that moment, at that frightening moment the angels will be there to comfort us and to carry us into the presence of the Lord, for in Luke 16, Jesus spoke of a poor beggar who day after day pled for alms, and then he died. And the Scripture says immediately, Our Lord said, immediately he was carried into the presence of God.
Imagine that! One moment a beggar, poor, wasted! And the next moment ushered in, escorted into the heavenly places, into the presence of God in the arm of an angel! And every time a saint of God dies, a child of God passes through to the other side, there is the presence of angels to attend us, turning the tragedy of death into a triumph of hope and eternal life. No wonder the Scripture says in Psalm 116, verse 15 “Precious, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.”
And so angels guide us step by step. And when the last steps are taken, count on it, you will be comforted, cared for, carried into the presence of God by angels, if you know and have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
Angels protect us. Thirdly, angels protect us. Now remember angels are powerful, powerful mighty beings. Don’t get the idea that angels are some kind of a neutered male. Some kind of an effeminate male. I mean these angels are strong, power… I mean your angel may be called Arnold or something like that, you know? I just had to do that. Just threw that out there for fun.
I mean, your angel is powerful, powerful weapon in the hand of God. And angels minister to us in times of distress, in times of discouragement, in times of danger. For example, in Acts chapter 27, Paul along with 200 others were thrown into the sea. Or their ship was thrown into the midst of great storm, rather. They were shipwrecked. And while the rest of them were frightened and despairing of life, Paul stood on deck and said, “Cheer up, fellows, last night an angel of the God of whom I am and of whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Don’t be afraid. You’re going to be delivered and your going to preach again.’” And these angels delivered them.
Angels delivered Daniel in the lion’s den. They stopped the mouths of lions.
The question is raised: Are there guardian angels? Do we have angels individually that guard us? The Scripture says yes! Again, Psalm 91, verse 1: “He shall give the angels…” Verse 11 and 12: “The angels shall be given charge over you, (protecting you, guarding you).
In Matthew 18 and verse 10 we have an insight as to when we get our … get our guardian angel. Would you look at it? Matthew 18?
Now hang with me I know it’s 12:04. You want me to finish this message or not? All right. Thank you, whether you want me to or not, I’m going to finish it.
Eighteen, 10. We’re getting to the best part. “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father, who is in heaven.” Apparently angels are given to us even when we are small children.
Now I don’t want to get mystical with you or spooky this morning, but as a small child, 3 years of age, I remember riding in the back seat of our 1954 Dodge. I had a sandwich in my hand and I hated that crust around the bread. I liked the bread but I didn’t want the crust. My mama said eat the crust, eat the crust, so I was already sneaking around. I was gonna unroll the window, roll the window down and throw the crust away and eat the bread. Somehow, 3 years of age I got a hold of the door and opened the door. We’re going 40 miles an hour. I can remember the struggle against that door. It seemed as though time stood still. I couldn’t understand why my mom and my brother in the front seat didn’t see that I was about to fall, but they didn’t see. And I was rushed out through the door and out into the street. I landed on my head. That’s the reason my dad said I survived, because I landed on my head. My brother rushed out and picked me up. I was a bloody mess. They took me to the hospital and to the amazement of everyone, no stitches. I went home in an hour. I was just fine.
I can tell you in the moment flying out that window that it seemed that something or someone carried me and landed me softly on the pavement. I believe God’s angels or God’s angel protected me. In fact, I gave that angel overtime when I was child, through a lot of stuff. Some of you are doing the same thing.
The angels administer God’s will and God’s purpose and make sure that God’s purpose on earth is fulfilled. And if that means delivering us from danger or preserving our lives, or defeating a demon on our behalf, He will send angels to do it.
And angels have often intervened to preserve your life when perhaps you never even realized it. That time when you nearly had that car accident, when you nearly fell off of that precipice, that particular time of struggle in your life, of darkness, and the angels ministered to you. We can take comfort in knowing that we are assigned these faithful friends to guide us and provide for us and to meet our needs.
The Bible says in the book of Job 1:10 that God put a hedge around Job… Job’s house, a hedge of protection. And I am convinced that God encircles our homes and encircles our lives with hedges of protection. That doesn’t mean that we’ll always be, that we’ll never be hurt. But it does mean in the providential plan of God that we will never ultimately be harmed, for God will minister to us.
What should our attitude towards angels be? Not to worship them, for we are forbidden to worship angels. Not the posture of worship but the posture of wonder, amazement. Not to be obsessed with angels, for we are only to be obsessed with our Lord Jesus Christ. And yet to marvel at the grace and the goodness of God who loves us so much that individually He cares for us and ministers to us and meets our needs, even through the angels.
And you know, in closing today, we should be like the angels. We should be like the angels in that our desire should be to worship Him continually. We should be like the angels in the fact that we should serve Him obediently. We should be like the angels in that we witness for Him personally. And we should be like the angels in that we minister to others individually.
We could strengthen the saints like the angels. We could comfort the bereaved. We can attend those at illness and death. And most of all we can be God’s angelos. We can be the messengers of God saying, “He is not here; He is risen. He is alive and he is Lord!” We are the messengers of God.
And the Bible tells us there’s a way to start a party in heaven, a way to start a party in heaven and you know what it is? Everytime a sinner comes home and repents, receiving the Lord Jesus Christ, the Scripture says in Luke 15 that there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels. All of heaven celebrates and rejoices, and the angels dance and sing and praise God when one person comes to Christ.
Let’s start a party this morning by inviting men, women, boys, and girls to know, to love and follow the Lord Jesus just like the angels.
Would you stand with me quietly and reverently? The ministers of our church are going to be standing here, ready to respond to you, ready to celebrate with you your decision for Christ. And I’m going to ask you if you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior this very day to invite Christ into your life by personal faith and trust. The one who died on the cross for your sins, the one who rose again on the third day. Jesus Christ, Savior, Lord.
Come and follow Him. Come and let’s celebrate His goodness and His grace in you life.
Others want to come and belong to this family of faith, to worship here, to serve here, to be a part of God’s family called Prestonwood. And if that’s you and God is leading you here today, you come and tell the pastors here that you want to be a part of this church family.
As our choir leads us in this hymn, the hymn of invitation, the hymn of appeal. Do it right now. It’s the right thing to do, it’s the very best thing you’ll ever do is to follow Jesus Christ.
