The Angels of God - Part B

The angel of the Lord guards all those who fear him and rescues them. I'm sure that if we were to go through this room with just the 50 people we have here, I'm sure if I were to ask you, our audience at home, you could tell me stories in your life that could or couldn't have been the intervention of an angel. Angels are real. They are powerful and they attend to important works of God. Today on Connect with Skip Heitzig, Skip shares how God's angels work in your life.

But before we begin, we want to let you know about a resource that will encourage you in your purpose and challenge you to impact your world with the truth of Jesus Christ. The desire to fit in, to be thought of as normal, is a basic human instinct. But would you believe that children as young as three years old already want to follow the crowd and fit in with the group? That's what researchers found in a Duke University study. Yet in the Bible, we learn that some of the people who've made the most impact have done so by defying normal.

Here's Skip Heitzig. I think the Bible calls us to a holy defiance of the status quo. Paul the apostle said, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

So what does it take to go from conformed to transformed? Find out in Pastor Skip's book, Defying Normal. Our thanks to you when you give $35 or more to help expand this Bible teaching ministry. And when you give today, we'll also include the booklet, What on Earth Am I Here For? by Rick Warren.

Get your copies of these two bold resources when you call 800-922-1888 or give online securely at connectwithskip.com slash offer. Okay, we'll be in Hebrews chapter one for today's study. So let's join Skip Heitzig. I read about one guy in the middle ages named Albertus Magnus or Albert the Great. He was a philosopher. He was a theologian.

And he also taught science at the time. And he said he knew the precise number. I know you want to know exactly how many angels there are. So according to Albertus Magnus, there are 399,920,004.

Have no idea how he calculated that or came up with it. But we know there must be a lot. Because for example, when God gives the law on Mount Sinai, we're told in Deuteronomy that the Lord came with myriads of his holy ones or angelic beings. At the birth of Jesus Christ, there was a multitude of the angelic hosts or company of angels. In Hebrews chapter 12 verse 22, it says that when we worship, we worship with an innumerable company of angels. Innumerable, can't number them.

Doesn't mean that you can't have an exact number eventually. But when he saw that, it's just an innumerable crowd. Probably closer to the number is Revelation chapter five, when John sees the vision of the heavenly system and setup.

It says, then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, the elders. And the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands. So at least there are 100 million angels, that's the math there, plus thousands of others. So let's just safely guess there are probably billions of angels. They're innumerable. So they're significant in God's plan.

There's several in number. A third trait of angels, they are seen only rarely. Notice that they are called spirits here.

Verse 14 of Hebrews one, are they the angels not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who will inherit salvation. So they are spirit beings. They are non-corporeal beings. That is, they don't have a physical body, ordinarily. I want to qualify that ordinarily.

You say ordinarily, what does that mean? Sometimes they do. For whatever purpose, God's purpose, He allows angels from time to time to have some kind of a human visage. After all, even in Hebrews is that some have entertained angels without knowing it. So they have some kind of a physical manifestation or God gives a person the ability to see into the spiritual realm, which is very, very real.

We don't see it, but from time to time, God allows that to happen. Now, the best example I can think of when it comes to trying to understand this comes from a movie, comes from a series called Star Trek. So in Star Trek, any truckies here?

We have any truckies? Okay, so in Star Trek, what did they do for entertainment on long trips? It was called the holodeck, the holodeck. The holodeck was a room that you went in and it was like a virtual reality room. In the holodeck, you could create holograms, three-dimensional images, that you design and then have an experience like a vacation. So if you're an earthling, you could create in the holodeck the Alps and you could have a trek, a hike through the Alps. If you were a Klingon, you could recreate famous battles from the past and hone and test your battle skills.

And when you're all done with the holodeck, you simply say computer and program. So from time to time, God puts his program in place so people can actually see angels. One of the famous ones is a guy by the name of Balaam. Balaam was on a donkey, was not obeying God. In Numbers 22, the Lord opened Balaam's eyes and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with him, with his sword drawn in his hand. Uh-oh, don't mess with that angel.

One of my famous or favorite stories is a less famous story, but I love it. It's about Elijah in 2 Kings chapter 6. In 2 Kings chapter 6, Elisha the prophet and his assistant go to a town called Dothan, D-O-T-H-N. They're kind of hiding there until they're found out and the Syrians come down and surround the town of Dothan. So the assistant to Elisha says, alas master, we're surrounded.

And I love it. Elisha said, actually there are more with us than with them. And I'm sure that his assistant looked at him and said, there are? We're surrounded by an army.

How is that possible? And so Elisha the prophet prayed, I love his prayer, Lord, open his eyes that he may see. And the servant of Elisha looked and was able to see chariots and horses and a vast army all around the army of Syria, surrounding them. So before he was thinking, poor us, we're surrounded.

And he thought, poor them. They're surrounded by an entire army of angels. So they are seen rarely.

Let me give you a couple more examples. They were security guards. They were the first security guards in the Bible, Genesis chapter three. They kept Adam and Eve from going back into the garden, holding up a flaming sword.

Adam and Eve were able to see them. Three angels were Abraham's dinner guests in Genesis chapter 18. Actually, two of them were angels.

One was God, the Bible tells us. Now, I don't know what you serve an angel for dinner. I'm guessing angel heaven. I don't know you serve an angel for dinner. I'm guessing angel hair pasta would be a safe bet. Topped off with angel food cake.

You couldn't go wrong with that, but we don't know. They were also divine bouncers. They showed up in a physical form in Sodom and Gomorrah, when the men of Sodom made sexual advances at Lot and his family.

And here's an interesting thing. One time it seemed that an angel shows up and enjoyed scaring people. And what I mean by that is when Jesus rose from the dead in Matthew 28, it says an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it. I've always loved that.

Roll the stone away and just sit there and wait. And it says, his countenance was like lightning, his clothing as white as snow, and the guards, the Roman guards, shook for fear of him and became like dead men. I just picture the angel just going, that's fun. Then there was a special ops agent in Acts chapter 12 that released Peter from prison. Peter was able to see this being.

The church had prayed for him and an angel was sent. So they're significant in God's plan. There are several in number.

They are seen only rarely. I'll give you a fourth trait as seen in Hebrews 1. They stand in God's presence. They stand in God's presence. There's a hint of that in verse 6, where we are told when he brings the firstborn into the world. Now this is the nativity.

This is the Christmas scene. When he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, let all the angels of God worship him. Like troops that surround a king, like a secret service group of agents that surround or stand with a dignitary, so are these angels. They stand in God's presence.

They're ready for action, ready for service. Daniel chapter 7, Daniel gets a vision of heaven. He sees the ancient of days on a throne, and he writes, a thousand thousands ministered to him, then thousand times ten thousand stood before him. There they are standing before the Lord. Revelation chapter 8, an insight into what's going on in the heavenly scene. I saw the seven angels who stand before God. Then another angel having a golden censer came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all of the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne, and the smoke of the incense with the prayers of with the prayers of all the saints ascended before God from the angel's hand. In Luke chapter 2, Gabriel identifies himself as one who stands before God.

When he gave that announcement, you're going to have a son. I am one who stands before the Lord. Now some theologians try to get really picky with this, and they call these seven angels that I just told you about in Revelation 8 the presence angels.

But Daniel, there's thousands upon thousands standing, a ministering, waiting to do the bidding of the Lord. A fifth trait or characteristic of angels is they share in God's work. Verse 7, of the angels, he says, who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flame of fire. You know the word angel means a messenger, so somebody who's sent, somebody who's dispatched. And it would seem that angels were used by God at different periods of history for special events that occurred that God wanted their involvement, wanted their help. In Psalm 103, they are called mighty ones who do his bidding and who obey his word. Years and years ago, Billy Graham wrote a book about angels called God's Secret Agents.

Sometimes they're secret, sometimes they're not so secret. But they share in God's work. For example, they were present at creation, Job 38. They served God when the law was given at Mount Sinai, when the revelation was given to Daniel, God used angels.

And they were very involved in the life of Jesus Christ, as I've already showed you. An angel announced his birth. Angels were singing in the skies above Bethlehem at his birth. Angels warned Mary and Joseph about Herod the Great wanting to kill the child. When Jesus was tempted in the desert, the angels ministered to him. When he was in the Garden of Gethsemane and sweating great drops of blood and in agony, angels came and ministered to him. And of course, at the resurrection, they rolled the stone away. When you get to the book of Revelation, the end times will have almost like the activity of angels on steroids. They're mentioned 75 times in the book of Revelation alone. An angel doing this, angels worshiping, angels with bowls poured out on the earth, angels with trumpets announcing a future judgment.

This is something that shouldn't surprise us. Jesus said that angels will assist in the final judgment. Jesus said, the Son of Man will send out his angels and they will gather out of the kingdom all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness and will cast them into the furnace of fire.

There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Quick question, how powerful are angels? Well, they're called mighty ones.

Paul calls them powers, dominions, authorities, throne. So these are rankings of angels that have enormous power. One angel in the Old Testament killed 185,000 Assyrians. You don't want to tick off an angel. And if you think of one angel killing 185,000, that puts a whole new blush and texture on what Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane when he said to Peter, put up your sword. Don't you know that I could call for 12 legions of angels?

That's 72,000. So if one angel can knock off 185,000, imagine what 72,000 could do. They are very, very powerful. So they're significant in God's plan. There are several in number.

They are seen only rarely. They stand in God's presence and they share in God's work. I'll give you a final one.

We could go on, but I'll give you a final one. Six, they serve God's people. This is to us the best news of all. It's fun to learn about them, but it's wonderful to think that God uses them for our benefit. For example, look at verse 13. But to which of the angels has he ever said, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies a footstool, are they not all ministering spirits sent forth, here's part of their job description, to minister, to help, to serve, to attend to, to minister for those who will inherit salvation.

That's us. God uses angels in your life to do his work. You say, well, what do angels do for me?

Let me give you just a few things. Number one, they watch us. They watch us.

Daniel calls angels watchers. So they're people watchers. Think of them as heavenly surveillance teams. Others would call that spying. You know, we don't like when the government knows what we're doing, watches what we're doing. Let me tell you, God's government knows everything you're doing. The mic is always on.

The camera is always on. There's nothing you do in secret, but you don't have an audience of angels. So they are watchers. They watch our obedience. They watch our disobedience. So they watch us. Second, they protect us.

They protect us. Psalm 37, the angel of the Lord guards all those who fear him and rescues them. I'm sure that if we were to go through this room with just the 50 people we have here, I'm sure if I were to ask you, our audience at home, you could tell me stories in your life that could or couldn't have been the intervention of an angel. I can tell you my own stories where I believe angels of God rescued my life. Happened to Daniel. In the lion's den, after he was rescued, he said, my God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouth. I'm sure he saw some kind of a being go to that to that lion, shut its mouth.

In Acts chapter 12, as I mentioned, an angel was sent from heaven to rescue Peter from prison so he wouldn't die. So they watch us. They protect us.

They join us. Whenever we worship, we are joining the choirs of heaven, or you might say, they are joining us. They are beings who have been worshiping God for a long, long time. In Hebrews chapter 12, he talks about worship. He says, you have come to the heavenly Jerusalem, to the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly.

Now, one of the great thoughts for me that enhances my own worship of God is to realize, with a sense of reverence and joy, that I am being joined in my worship by these beings. It's like, they're doing what we do. Let's join them.

The Bible also says, when a sinner comes through repentance, all the angels in heaven rejoice. So they watch us. They protect us. They join us. Finally, they usher us.

They usher us. In the New Testament, Luke 16, Jesus tells a story, not a parable, a story of a rich man and Lazarus. And he said, the rich man died and was buried, but with Lazarus, he was ushered into Abraham's bosom, ushered into the presence of God.

Imagine that. One moment, you're a beggar on earth in poverty. The next moment, angels of God are taking you into his presence. And I think that when every child of God dies, they don't turn into angels as, I don't know, wherever that came from. But angels do attend that person's soul and convey it into the presence of God, turning every tragedy of death into a triumph for a child of God.

That's why in Psalm 116, it says, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. Well, something else you need to know about angels. As they watch us, they study with curiosity and amazement, God's grace.

It says in 1 Peter 1, verse 12, he talks about our salvation and God's work in our lives, God's work of grace. He says, which things the angels desire to look into. You know, I think angels look at us and go, I can't believe that Skip guy is so stupid. He doesn't take advantage of God's mercy and grace and help more often. Or he doesn't do this. I'm looking at, he's such a bonehead and yet God loves him so much. I don't get it.

What's with these people that God loves? J.B. Phillips, who is a New Testament scholar, brilliant scholar, had a fun little story of an angel showing a newcomer angel, the universe. And so they're flying around and they are whirling past galaxies and they get into this one called the Milky Way.

And there's one particular planet called the Earth. And so J.B. Phillips writes, the senior angel pointed to a small sphere turning slowly on its axis. It looked as dull and as dirty as a tennis ball to the little angel whose mind was filled with the size and glory of what he had just seen. Watch that one, particularly the senior angel pointing with his finger said, it looks very small to me, said the angel, speaking of the Earth.

What's so special about that one? He listened in stunned disbelief as the senior angel told him that this planet, small and insignificant and not overly clean, was the renowned visited planet. Do you mean, said the young angel, that our glorious prince stooped so low as to become one of these creeping crawling creatures in that floating ball?

I do. And I don't think that he would like you calling them creepy crawling creatures. For strange as it may seem to us, he loves them.

He went down to visit them to lift them up to become like him. The little angel looked blank. Such a thought was almost beyond his comprehension. You know, the idea of angelic beings is beyond most of our comprehension. The idea of God is beyond our comprehension. The idea of God sending his son to die for us is beyond comprehension.

The idea of sending his Holy Spirit to live in us beyond our comprehension. But it's true. And just as there is a physical universe that is real, a world that is real, and people say, get real, man, live in the real world. There's another world that's the really real world. And one day you'll be able to see it. One day you'll be with the angels in heaven if you're a believer, or you'll be with fallen angels in hell if you are not a believer.

You see, God gives you incredible power to make a choice that determines your destiny. That wraps up Skip Heitzig's message from the series 2020. Here's Skip to share how you can keep these messages coming your way to connect you and many others around the world with the good news of Jesus. Nobody can come to know God the Father except by going through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And as the Apostle Peter said, there's no other name under heaven given by which we must be saved. That's a message of hope and salvation.

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Once again, that's connectwithskip.com. Next week Skip Heitzig shares some surprising facts you may not know about the Christian's enemy, the devil. Make a connection, make a connection at the foot of the cross and cast all burdens on his word. Make a connection, connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never changing truth in ever changing times.