Discover the Power of One, Part 8

The Purpose of Angels, next on Leading the Way Audio with Dr. Michael Yusef. The Bible teaches us that in heaven the angels are forever magnifying the name of God. That in heaven they are serving, they are worshipping, they are executing the orders of God. That's what they're doing in heaven. On earth they are ministering to the believers.

They even rule nations as we're going to see in chapter 12 of the book of Daniel. When you look into the life of Daniel, you see an inspiring example of a life well lived for the Lord. Up next, Dr. Yusef examines Daniel and his experiences with an angelic visit and what this experience reveals.

Thank you for listening to Leading the Way. Dr. Yusef's current series is called Discover the Power of One. And if you've missed any episode, just click on the listen link at ltw.org and catch up today. In fact, we have all of Dr. Yusef's content right there. But also remember that you can hear his messages through the app or the podcast. But no matter where you listen, stay current and connected with Dr. Yusef at ltw.org. Now, I'll give you a little more information later. Right now though, let's get to Daniel chapter 12.

Listen with me as Dr. Michael Yusef begins. Hebrews chapter 1 verse 14 makes it very clear that the angel's role is to minister. It is to serve the heir of salvation. They are to serve the believers at the behest of God. They serve the believers at the command of God. They serve the believers at the order of God, not their own volition because they have none of their own.

They administer the purpose of God in the lives of the believers. That's what the role of angel is. And so if you don't know the Lord of the angels, all the talk about angels will not help you.

Try what you may, the angels will not protect you. And the Bible gives us a clear picture about what the angel's doing both in heaven and on earth. The Bible teaches us that in heaven the angels are forever magnifying the name of God. That in heaven they are serving, they are worshipping, they are executing the orders of God. In heaven the angels are forever extolling the majesty of God. They are forever praising the Lamb of God that was slain before the foundation of the earth.

They are forever thanking and praising the Lord Jesus Christ for leaving the glories of heaven and dying on a cross in order to pay for the wages of sinners around the world. That's what they're doing in heaven. On earth they are executing God's purpose on earth. On earth they are ministering to the believers.

On earth they are protecting the believers at the command of God. They even rule nations as we're going to see in chapter 12 of the book of Daniel 10. Please with me to Daniel 12. And here we see Daniel around the age of 86 or 87, give or take.

A few months here and a few months there. We saw him in the beginning of the book of Daniel at the age of 14 standing firm for God. And here we see him at the age of 86 standing firm for God. What a faithful man. He stood firm despite of the threats. He stood firm in spite of persecution. He stood firm in spite of harassment. He stood firm in spite of betrayal. He stood firm in the midst of hungry lions and he lived to tell about it. All of these things failed to break Daniel's spirit.

All of these things have failed to get Daniel to compromise and get him to put one foot with God and one foot with the Babylonians. And here in chapter 12 we see the pre-incarnate Christ revealing that his angels administer his purpose, serve his purpose, serve his plan on earth. Even in the most distressing times the pre-incarnate Christ points out, in the most distressing times that the world has ever known and will ever know, the angels of God are there to protect God's children. Even in the times of the horror of the antichrist, the archangel Michael is standing there to protect the people of God. The archangel Michael will deliver God's people. The archangel Michael will make sure that no one, no one, no one, no one whose name is written in the book of life will ever be lost.

Amen belongs here. Now look at verse 1 of chapter 12 of the book of Daniel. It says everyone whose name written in the book of life shall be delivered. Now I'll tell you something, shall, not maybe, not possibly, that there is a distinct possibility, not let's hope so, no, no, no, no, no, shall be protected, shall not be lost. Look at verse 1 again. Everyone whose name written in the book of life shall be delivered.

Can you say shall be delivered? God bless you. Michael whose name means who is like God. Now you understand why my parents named me Michael because they really wanted the glory of God and to thank God for supernatural intervention in my life. Those of you who do not know, my mother nearly aborted me when I was in her womb at the doctor's command.

But then she trusted the Lord and He brought her through and she lived 16 years and that is why she's a woman who loved God and trusted God. And that is why she want to be reminded every time she calls my name who is like God, who is like God and the answer is no one. And Michael has already been mentioned in the book of Daniel chapter 10 and verses 13 and verse 21 and is mentioned that he is one of the chief princess. He said what does that mean?

What does that mean? It means that he stand guard protecting God's own children. Gabriel, for example, was the announcer of God. He is the one to announce the news. He actually came and announced news to Daniel. Gabriel is the one who told Mary and Joseph about the birth of Christ.

He told the shepherd. Gabriel is the proclaimer. He is the announcer. He is the mouthpiece of God.

He announces the future. But Michael was called the archangel and the reason he is called the archangel was because he is more than just a messenger. He is more than just delivering the message of God to somebody. He is the chief warrior. He is the most powerful commanding general in the celestial being.

But also for that God has given him special powers. In the epistle to Jude in the New Testament, in verse 9, it spells it out very clearly that Michael is the one who contends with the devil on our behalf, that Michael is the celestial military general who commands billions, could be trillions, of angelic hosts, an angelic being. And his primary task is to defeat the devil and his demons.

Michael and his hosts, they have one task and that is not only to defeat Satan on behalf of the believers here and now, but he is the one who will ultimately lock up Satan in the lake of fire. You see that in the book of Revelation clearly spelled out. But according to 1 Thessalonians 4.16, immediately before the return of Christ we are going to hear the archangel Michael with our own ears and we will hear him because the Bible said that we will hear the voice of the archangel. The Bible also tells us that there are different ranks among the angelic beings.

There are the archangels, then the angels, there is the seraphim and cherubim and there are principalities and authorities and powers and thrones and dominions. The message here of Daniel 12 is basically twofold. In verses 1 to 4, the pre-incarnate Christ is assuring us that his angels will protect the believers in this life. Secondly, in verses 5 to 13, it tells us that the angels will take the believers all the way home to glory.

First, the angels will protect God's own children here and now in this life. The pre-incarnate Christ wanted Daniel to know, wanted you to know, wanted us to know. That was revealed fully 600 years later when God became man through the Lord Jesus Christ. 600 years before God became man in person of Jesus Christ, Daniel needed to know some things. He wanted to know everything, but God wouldn't let him know everything, just let him know some things. Remember, at the time of Daniel, it was over 600 years before Christ and he wanted to let him know what we already know in the New Testament as it revealed in Christ, namely that God uses his angelic beings to protect the believers. Throughout the New Testament, when God became man, Jesus told us again and again and again, read in the gospels, you'll find it there, how he shall protect his own to the end. Those whom the Father has given me, I will lose none. Even the Apostle Paul was echoing Jesus' words and he was asking the question, a rhetorical question, what shall separate us from the love of God?

And then he comes up with a whole list of possibilities. Shall persecution, shall hunger and famine, demons, angels, and then he comes to the conclusion that nothing, nothing shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. But 650 years before the coming of Christ, the pre-incarnate Christ told Daniel that everyone whose name is written in the book of life shall be protected, not may be protected, will possibly be protected and some circumstances will be protected shall be protected.

Jesus said in Luke 10 20, rejoice when the disciples were so excited that they had power over demons, that they were exercising demonic forces, they were healing the sick. Jesus said rejoice that your names are written in the book of life. That is a cause for rejoicing. That is a cause for celebrating. When you down and discourage, rejoice, your name is written in the book of life.

The book of Revelation chapter 20 verse 15 said, please listen carefully, don't miss this one, whomsoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. I get no joy out of that, but that's a fact. It's a fact. God said it. It is truth. But here's what you need to know.

Listen to me carefully please. In heaven, there is a book. Well, it's more like a database for those of you computer experts. It's a database. Yeah, we have a database downstairs and all the staff will tell you every now and again we found mistakes. Somebody moved and has not been corrected and somebody's got married and the name has not changed.

Some mistakes. With the database that God has in heaven, there are no mistakes. And there are 20,000 Michael Yusufs there.

There are every one of them individually known to God because our fingerprints, our DNA, our personality, everything, who we are is written in the book of life and no one can change that. No one can take that name out. No one can do anything to that name. That's what the Bible is saying. It's not maybe. It's not possibly. It's not I hope so.

No. Everyone, either in the book of life or it's not in the book of life. Beloved, I want to tell you, everyone who's listening, you need to know. You either have your name written in the book of life or your name is not written in the book of life. That is the most important thing you need to know today. I want to tell you the most important thing for you and for me that will matter the most is having your name in that book, in that database. It is exceedingly more important than your reputation in your society or in your company or among your friends. It is exceedingly more important than your achievements and your accomplishments in this life. It is exceedingly more important than your education. It is exceedingly more important, the string of degrees that you can get. It is exceedingly more important than your possessions and your accumulations. It is exceedingly more important than your statement of net worth.

Why? Because all of these things are going to be destroyed. All of these things will benefit you not on that day.

All of these things will not be of any use in the last day. What will matter then is whether your name is written in the book of life or not. Maybe someone here today will say, how do I know that my name is written in the book of life?

There's only one way. If you submitted your life to Jesus Christ, if you have accepted that you can never save yourself, that all of your efforts will not help you, but only through the acceptance of the payment that the perfect Son of God paid on the cross for you. When you accept that payment to be for you personally, that's when you get your name written in the book of life. The word of God makes it very clear that those whose names are written in the book of life shall be guarded, shall be protected in this life by the warring angels under the leadership of Chief Michael, of the Archangel Michael until your last breath. But not only that, while you go through life, the pre-incarnate Christ is saying to Daniel, the antichrist might try to persecute us.

He might try to make our life into living hell, but he will fail. He is saying that the untold pressure of the world, the flesh and the devil, they will try to destroy us, but they will fail. He is telling us that the incarnate Christ is saying that even increased in knowledge is going to try to distract us and take our attention away, but they will fail. God's angels will protect those whose names are written in the book of life, in this life.

But secondly, God's angels will protect his own in the life to come. Look at verse nine with me. The pre-incarnate Christ is saying to Daniel, Daniel, it's not up to you to know the timing. You see, Daniel was curious. He saw some things and he wanted to know some more. I know, we all do. But the pre-incarnate Christ said, you don't have to know everything.

I don't have to know everything. He said, go your way. What does that mean? Well, that's a Hebrew way of talking. They're saying, Daniel, mind your own business.

Yes, mind your own business. Daniel, don't trouble yourself about these things. Daniel, trust God about all these things. The end times are known to God the Father alone.

That's it. I don't have to know everything. Beloved, listen to me. When Daniel, the great man of God, wanted to know more, the pre-incarnate Christ said to him, it is not necessary for you to know all the details of God's timing.

It is not necessary for you. Look at verse 10. Verse 10 makes it very clear that the secular man, despite of all his secular and worldly wisdom, will not understand God's ways.

He will not understand it. In contrast, those who love the Lord, those who fear the Lord, those who are serving the Lord, those who are witnessing for the Lord, those who are calling people into righteousness, those whose life has been manifested and been possessed by the Holy Spirit of God, regardless of what contradictions in history or confusion in history, those wise whose names are written in the book of life, there are those who fear God. The wise are those who are under the cover of God.

The wise are those who are under God's protection in this life and in the life to come. That's really what matters. In verse 12, he is saying for sure there's going to be a period of time. And that's why you get all kinds of interpretations of three and a half years and seven years and this, that many years. There's going to be a period of time. In fact, when the Bible talks about a time and a time and a half, the Bible talks about a period of time.

And we need to be honest enough to say nobody really knows. And it doesn't matter. I live my life as Jesus is coming back this afternoon or I'm going to see him. But I work as if he's not coming back for a thousand years. In verse 12, he's saying sure there's going to be a time period that will pass before the end will come.

But the point is this. Only God controls the times and the seasons. Only God can change the times and the seasons. Only God knows who, what, where, when you and I are called to be obedient. God says do this, yes sir. God says do that, yes sir.

God is the only one who knows this. And God is saying to Daniel, you go on trusting in God's power to protect you and his people. You go on placing your confidence in the God who promised that he will never leave you nor forsake you. You go on believing and trusting in the God who said that he who began a good work in you is able to bring it to completion through the power of Christ Jesus. You keep on trusting that God's angels will not only protect you and protect all of God's people whose names written in the book of life in this life but in the life to come, they are going to take you all the way to glory. He's saying Daniel, remember that the very angels that came down and zipped the mouths of all these lions and made a beautiful mattress for you to sleep on, all those angels who have done this, they are going to protect you all the way until you come to glory.

That's what the message is. When we've been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we'll have no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun. Dr. Michael Yusef, with the inspirational conclusion to his series, discover the power of one. And remember that you can listen to all of Dr. Yusef's messages online at ltw.org, with the Leading the Way app, by subscribing to the podcast, and more.

All of the details are at ltw.org. And you know, just like your church is more than a building where people gather for worship and teaching and fellowship, Leading the Way is more than a radio program or a podcast. Leading the Way has passionate team members around the world ministering through media and one-on-one discipleship and evangelism. Dr. Yusef also has a passion to speak into the troubled world in which we live.

Many are calling right wrong and wrong right, so he clearly wants to offer you a look at life and cultural challenges through a biblical lens. One way he does this is through a weekly podcast. It features content from Dr. Jonathan Yusef. It's called Candid Conversations with Jonathan Yusef. Dr. Yusef's youngest son, Jonathan, invites respected Christian leaders into conversations about sensitive topics that often bring up difficult questions. He looks at theology, parenting, sexuality, world religions, engaging the post-truth culture, and more, all through the lens of biblical truth. Subscribe to Candid Conversations with Jonathan Yusef through your favorite podcast platform.

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